Binary Means Two
by Ameonna
Summary: A annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities. Glitch/Cain. Rated PG to NC17.
1. Seasons of Contention

**Title:**Binary Means Two

**Rating:** Um, we're gonna say PG for this chapter leading up to NC-17 hopefully.

**Parings:** Cain/Glitch/Ambrose, you know it's awesome when there's two slashes in there. Possibly Jeb/OC later on. Cause for some reason I can't not make an OC.

**Summary:** A annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities.

**Part One: Seasons of Contention**

He talks to himself even more now than he did when he was only Glitch.

Of course, now there's actually someone to talk to.

"We're working tooo hard! I'm tired! You're tired!"

"Just let me get the last few pages done..."

"You said that forever ago... You know I could just walk us right out of here..."

"Glitch, I said..."

"Five minutes. You said that when DG came in. With dinner. When the sun was still out."

Ambrose sighed and looked out the window as he ran his fingers through his dark curls, the tips barely ghosting over the hidden scar.

Huh. Imagine that. It was dark. When had that...?

"Like hours ago you freak!"

A slow smirk as deft hands stacked the papers that littered the desk, "Oh, so I'm the freak now..."

"Yes! I at least take naps, and rests."

"You'd sleep all day if I let you."

"What's wrong with that?"

"With the amount of work now that the O.Z. needs..."

"Just one day! Not all days. Some days."

"No."

"Weekends?"

"No, Glitch."

"Tuesdays?"

"Glitch..."

"Alternate Tuesdays?"

"Glitch!"

DG paused moments before she lifted her hand to knock. They were arguing. Again. Quietly she leaned forward and pressed her ear against the door.

"Workaholic!"

"Basket case!"

"You started it!"

"I did not!"

Ah, so they had already gotten to the name calling bit.

She smiled, it was only a matter of time before name calling turned into 'well I'm not talking to you either' and then it was only a good day or so before the muttering picked up again. They'd be friends again for maybe another few days or so before the whole thing started over. DG rolled her eyes as the bickering fell into silence. It was what she had wanted to discuss with them. This couldn't be healthy. For either of them, if that made sense. It had been confusing to begin with and now it still was it was just... familiar confusing.

Glitch had wanted his brain back, between the alchemists and her magic they'd done it. Except that for the first week or so, there wasn't any sort of change at all. He was still Glitch, silly, stumbling Glitch, and while that had been disappointing for some it was, well, it was okay because they loved Glitch and even if the operation didn't work like it should have... But it hadn't been that easy.

DG opened the door a crack, Glitch hadn't come out of the lab so Ambrose must have won the argument. She stuck her head in experimentally, it was Ambrose, standing over the desk, pushing papers around and making notes in neat script in a leather bound notebook.

She hadn't met Ambrose until a week and a half after Glitch's brain had been returned to him. No one had. Not until one afternoon when he'd broken through like sunbeams through a cloudy sky.

She had been sketching as her mother read out loud. They were both in Glitch's room, after it had become apparent that it was nearly impossible to keep the man in bed unless someone was there with him every moment of the day. DG had figured he'd be at least a little mellow after what was considered major brain surgery in her book, and sure he was, for the first two days, before he'd gotten completely bored. It was after the third time that Cain had carried him back to bed that they'd organized a watch, with shifts and everything. DG though it was silly the way it had come out so regimented, but Cain had used his serious look and she'd agreed to 'from lunch to dinner'.

But like she had said, Ozma, that was her mother's name, she had learned it at the same time that Glitch had re-learned it, was reading. Some fable about green glass and maybe there was a horse. DG had only been half listening. When they had both noticed at the same time that Glitch had gone quiet. That wasn't any surprise since he was supposed to be listening to the story, but since it was Glitch; listening that meant that he listened for about a minute before he interrupted or asked a question or got them all on a tangent that interrupted the story for a half hour before they got it back on track.

This time was different. He had gone really and truly quiet, and when DG looked up he was sitting there in bed, looking a little confused, maybe a little worried down at his hands, which were still in his lap. Another worrisome sign. His hand were rarely still. Fingers dancing, gesturing, picking at his sleeve or tugging on a brown curl or poking tentatively at the edge of the white bandage that ran down where his zipper used to be.

All three of them were silent, her mother lowering the book slowly as Glitch looked down at his hands and after a moment carefully uncurled his fingers as his eyes widened and he blinked.

"Glitch?" DG tried to keep the concern out of her voice but the question wavered a bit at the end.

He didn't even move, like he hadn't even heard her and she heard her pencil hit the floor as she leaned forward.

"Glitch, are you okay?"

Nothing.

"Glitch!"

She looked up as her mother reached out and took her wrist. DG bit her lip and then her eyes widened as her mother leaned forward gently,

"Ambrose?"

He'd blinked and then looked up, his eyes lighting up barely with recognition and he'd opened his mouth for what seemed like a second before he closed it again and the confusion returned. It was like he had wanted to speak but had simply... forgotten...

DG watched her mother put the book on the end table and then very slowly, deliberately curled her fingers around his.

He'd stiffened, his entire body tense for a moment before he took a deep breath and DG saw him deliberately relax, his eyes back on his hands, on Ozma's fingers as very, very carefully he'd reached over with his other hand and curled it around hers. Then just the briefest ghost of a smile came over his face, like a child, just when its figured out how to tie a bow or how high it can jump.

Then there had been a slow shake of his head and all of a sudden Glitch was blinking again and asking if he'd fallen asleep. Blushing a bit when he found the queen holding his hand, and altogether curious and concerned about what had happened to make both women look so pale.

A meeting had been quickly called.

It hadn't gone well.

"Ambrose?"

DG slid the rest of the way into the room, a library attached to a workshop. At least the workshop door was closed. If he'd been in the middle of something there she'd never have gotten more than three words out of him. Ambrose's mind wandered almost as much at Glitch's did just in a different direction.

He looked up after finishing the sentence he was writing, and nodded politely.

"Good evening, princess."

DG shot him a look and he dipped his head, "Pardon. DG."

"That's better." She flopped into the chair he never seemed to use and peered over notes and drawings, "Though it is a little bit later than 'evening'. It's technically a 'good morning', but I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, is it?" He frowned a little as he tipped his pen just a bit as if he was going to put it down and then thought better of it as he kept writing, "I really should have a clock put in down here. I supposed I could make one but that would just take more..."

"Time?"

Ambrose smiled lightly, "Ah yes, needing time to make time. It sounds ridiculous. Though..." A pause before a shake of his head, "No, no, that wouldn't work."

DG toyed with a bit of wire she'd found tucked between papers.

"Are you two getting along? I mean, I heard you guys arguing again."

Ambrose wrote a word, "Ah, it's just the usual one. I'm working too hard, he's bored. Though I'll apologize he didn't greet you, I may have implied that it was physically impossible for him to remain silent for more than fifteen minutes and he's currently hard at work proving me wrong."

There was a flash of expression on his face for a moment, a flash that wasn't Ambrose but Glitch looking smug for a moment before it was Ambrose again looking thoughtful at his notes.

DG smiled as she twisted the bit of wire in half before absently braiding it together.

"You guys have been fighting a lot lately."

Ambrose nodded his head from side to side, agreeing and not agreeing. Cain had called him dodgy in that tone of voice that only seemed to surface when Ambrose was in the room. The man had a knack for never saying exactly what he meant, or what he wanted. He danced with words with as much grace and rhythm as he did to music. Of course now that he had Glitch taking up residence with him, some things got blurted out whether he liked it or not.

"Is there a why or do you just not get along?"

A long suffering sigh over the scratch of the pen, "Must I answer you, Princess DG?"

"You could tell everyone over breakfast..."

Brown eyes sparkled and a Glitch smile passed over his features before Ambrose looked up,

"Don't tell me. They've sent you as an emissary."

DG grinned, twirling the wire which had become a heart in her idling fingers.

"We are kind of wondering. Since it's usually Glitch that tells us, but we haven't seen him out in awhile."

Time quickly calculated in his head. Two weeks. He'd been working on recalibrating the Sun Seeder for two weeks.

Ambrose grimaced, "Ah, it's been two weeks, hasn't it?"

DG nodded as Glitch rolled his eyes and left Ambrose blinking.

"Sorry, I just got so absorbed in my project that I sort of..."

"Tuned him out?"

A sheepish grin was followed by a strong wide eyed nod and DG smiled.

"You should know by now, that's not nice."

Ambrose pursed his lips before giving her as genuine a smile as he had.

"I stand by that fact that it was worth it though. The Sun Seeder should finally be fully operational in a week or so, in its [ioriginal[/i capacity."

"That's great! Mom 'ill be excited. Is that what you've been doing in here?"

Ambrose nodded as he finally set his pen down, "I've finished the initial calculations and drawn up orders for the alterations which will have to be overseen, of course, but for now, I guess I can say I'm done."

"Yay!"

DG laughed as Glitch suddenly burst through and then reached up to cover his own mouth,

"Oops, that wasn't fifteen minutes, was it?"

Ambrose's guarded expression returned, "Not quite, but it was a good effort."

He bowed slightly at DG, "Now if you don't mind, I believe I shall turn all questions to my other half then."

DG nodded, "He tells me more than you do."

"Well, he does benefit from a lack of reputation to uphold."

"Hey! I've got lots of reputation, thank you!"

Ambrose merely smiled a strained smiled and nodded as Glitch slipped more permanently to the forefront.

"I have all sorts... of..." Glitch muttered and looked a bit darkly at the papers on the desk. He'd shove them back all into disarray if he'd remember why he was so...

"Hi DG! What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Wanna go get some pancakes?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Pancakes were nice. Pancakes didn't overwork themselves or call him names. Pancakes didn't tell him that he was making too much fuss over one silly thing. It wasn't silly. Was it? Sometimes he forgot what it was. But now that he had Ambrose he could just ask him so it was kind of nice. It was like he remembered, but he didn't, Ambrose remembered for him. Which was like him remembering except it wasn't.

He was currently engaged in licking berry syrup off his fingers while telling a long rambling story about some incredibly dumb thing Ambrose had done when he was seven, since it was so nice having memories now even if they felt like someone else's, and he knew he knew the story until he thought about it and then blinked,

"Hmm, I think I forgot the last part."

DG was laughing so hard, her cheeks were pink,

"I think Ambrose would want you to forget the last part."

He grinned. It was always all right when DG was around. He missed her sometimes when Ambrose was working really hard and Glitch was lying around in the background making colors and shapes and comments. They just didn't mesh, at least not more than just around the edges, apparently that was a side effect, because it had been a really, really long time since he'd been properly put together and something about different experiences. He was sure there was going to be a book written about it or something. How Ambrose had become something not quite human and Glitch had become something... well something broken, and when you smashed them together what you got was still a little broken just in different ways.

Sometimes Ambrose forgot he was human again which was lucky because at least Glitch was good at remembering sleeping and food and hugs. While Glitch could forget names and periodic tables, Ambrose could forget that he could leave the room he was in. When they were apart they were both broken, even though sometimes Ambrose refused to admit it, but together they made up a sort of whole-ish person. But that didn't mean they got along.

They were very different people and over the last annual and a half... Was it really an annual an a half since he'd gotten his brain back? Yes, Ambrose said, a bit sleepily. Well, over the last annual and a half something seemed to happen everyday to remind them of it.

First of all Ambrose had no sense of fun what so ever.

He claims that he does but Glitch knows better. Confidence. Confidence was the key and Glitch had thought confidence came from being smart. He couldn't have been more wrong. Ambrose is confident when he's talking about machines or numbers or strange theories long forgotten. But he's quiet at parties or dinners. Not a word comes out when people are joking and the only dances he'll do are the boring proper ones. Even though he likes dancing! He likes it! But he won't do the fun ones because...

"Glitch?"

"...embarrassing..."

"Glitch!"

"Oh! Sorry, were you saying something?"

DG chuckled, "No, I was just watching you stare off into space and get that grumbly look you get when you're thinking about something you don't want to."

"Well, that's not very polite. You're supposed to keep me from getting that look."

"Sorry, is it Ambrose?"

Glitch huffed, "Of course."

"I was trying to get him to talk about it..."

Glitch laughed and twiddled his fork in his fingers, "Good luck with that. I think you'll get a medal if you get him to say anything out loud."

"Ooh!" DG grinned, "I like medals. Is it shiny?"

"Very shiny," Glitch raised his eyebrows as he grinned, "The shiniest ever."

Laughter eclipsed thoughts and grumbles on the outside. But the sighing feeling was still there. Ambrose wasn't Glitch. Ambrose didn't like sweets. He didn't care how pretty the sunsrise was. He didn't ask for help. He didn't smile when he felt he should. He didn't snicker when DG told a joke.

"Oh hey, we got a report from Cain."

Glitch felt himself smile, sort of silly as his stomach flip flopped, "Really? Is he doing okay?"

"Yep," DG nodded as she ate a figberry, "him, Jeb, and the mapmaker are about halfway through Winkie Country, whatever that means. They say almost all of the western coast is done. Then they're going to head north to double check the map that Dad had."

Glitch took a deep breath keeping his smile in place, "That's good. Important work and all. We all have to do our important work to do..."

He trailed off, his eyes suddenly wide as he felt the overwhelming urge to bolt from the room, part of it was him but most of it was Ambrose who had perked up at a topic he didn't want to hear at all about.

"You miss him that bad, huh?"

Glitch was too unguarded to pretend he didn't know exactly what she was talking about. But he smiled silly anyway.

"Of course. We all miss Cain."

DG sighed and Glitch wanted to talk and rant and blather... But he felt Ambrose in the back of his mind and he didn't want Ambrose to be mad at him. So he changed the subject and they laughed until the cook shooed them out, even though he could see the sorrowful change in DG's blue eyes when she looked at him, but he didn't want Ambrose to wake all the way up and tell him what it was.

Glitch and Ambrose weren't the same person. They didn't quite agree on some things but they only really had one big point of contention.

Ambrose didn't love Wyatt Cain.


	2. Thaumatrope

**Title:** Binary Means Two

**Rating:** Still PG, eventually NC-17 hopefully.

**Parings:** Cain/Glitch/Ambrose, you know it's awesome when there's two slashes in there. Possibly Jeb/OC, you'll meet her grand craziness here.

**Summary:** A annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities.

**Part Two: Thaumatrope**

They had disliked each other almost immediately. Much to Glitch's dismay. He could remember a hazy vision of Cain walking away while Ambrose just _let him_. No, no, that's not how it was supposed to work. He was whole again and now... He tried to explain it to Ambrose, frantic and fumbling as he stood frozen to the spot while the door shut painfully slow behind Cain. But Ambrose didn't listen, or he didn't want to listen. He said he didn't have time to deal with things like that... Things like that!? Well, what about Glitch? Glitch was just supposed to stop _dealing_ too...?

Yes.

That answer had come too sudden and sounded too sure for Glitch to have fostered doubt that his other half may have been wrong. Ambrose was smart. Ambrose knew what was going on... And he said that Cain didn't lov...

DG found him an hour later, sitting in a hunched ball by the library fireplace crying with Ambrose begging him in a strained voice to stop. As soon as she had put her arms around him Ambrose had skittered away to the far corners of themselves and Glitch could finally let all of it out.

"Why don't you tell Cain how you feel?"

"I-I don't want Ambrose to be m-mad..."

He knew that DG had gone to Cain. He had heard Cain yell, he heard doors slamming.

Cain had left that very week and Glitch could not get Ambrose to tell him what he'd said to the tin man to make him so angry.

It was just another fuzzy bit of his memory but what was making him mad was that Ambrose wouldn't let him _have_ it. Ambrose was loosening up and as a result Glitch remembered more, but not that day, not what had happened in the library, a month after the surgery, that had left Cain cold and distant again.

Glitch had been angry. Really, really angry. Super angry. He had worked really hard! Didn't Ambrose know how much it took to make Cain smile? How difficult it was to get him to just relax? It was nearly impossible to soften those blue eyes but Glitch had done it. More than once even. Ambrose had undone it all in a matter of minutes.

Glitch rolled over and looked at the ceiling. It had to be late, or early. DG had made him go to bed after pancakes, which was kind of nice because now he was all full and the blankets were warm but that didn't mean his brain shut off. Ambrose was a sleepy lump somewhere in the back of his thoughts. Really the only time they had to themselves was when the other's consciousness was so tired it just curled up in a ball and didn't listen anymore. So maybe Glitch was going to make the most of it. Maybe he was going to think, since it seemed that Ambrose was wonderful at solving all the worlds problem, but not their own problems.

Gods, what had he said to Cain? Glitch closed his eyes and struggled until his head hurt. He could hear an echoing conversation... not really, it was another argument. Another something that Ambrose had tucked away because he thought it was distasteful or embarrassing.

Glitch tugged at it, pulling just a little at the memory, trying to slip it out and away before Ambrose woke. He felt a little thrill, like he was stealing his older brother's journal or something, but this was much more complex...

_"Glitch, he doesn't love you."_

Glitch grimaced a little as the conversation began to play for him. Oh. Wait. He remembered this one. He just didn't want to.

_"I don't believe that anymore. He never said so. What did you say to him?"_

_"Nothing that wasn't true, now will you let me get this done?"_

_"No." Glitch whined like a petulant child._

_"Glitch don't be such a nuisance..."_

_In one movement all the papers were scattered off the desk and onto the floor. Ambrose sighed, "You know you've just made more work, right?"_

_"I don't care. I'm sick of you not telling me anything! Cain left and I'm upset and I'm even more upset because you don't care that I'm upset."_

_"I_don't_ care Glitch, you're the one that cares, I just think."_

Glitch had gone quiet while Ambrose spent the next hour and a half reorganizing his papers.

He'd been mad and hurt and all jumbled. In a way it _was_ kind of like having an older brother. One that liked to tell you that you were wrong and you needed to stop being so young even though you didn't know _how_, but an older brother nonetheless. Glitch closed his eyes and he heard Ambrose's words again,

_"I don't care Glitch, you're the one that cares, I just think."_

That was right. His eyes flashed open. Wasn't it? Glitch cared. Glitch cared a lot. He cared about his friends. He cared about DG and Raw and Cain and he'd even cared about Toto when it came down to it and he cared about... about... Maybe, maybe Ambrose _couldn't_care anymore. He'd been in that jar/vat/container for... well for as long Cain had been in that tin suit and look at how he had ended up. A complete mess. Needing... care.

Glitch slowly started to grin as he looked up at the ceiling. That had to be it! He knew that Ambrose had forgotten human stuff he just didn't know he'd forgotten _all_ of it! That was why he was so skittish around DG! He had stayed away from Raw too... He was even distant to the Queen but politely so. Glitch had been mad at him the whole time, he'd been so focused on Cain. Ambrose had broken Cain again, he'd broken everything that Glitch had done that Glitch hadn't even thought about Ambrose.

With a flump Glitch rolled over and burrowed into the blankets. He'd just had a ipiffany. He was almost sure that wasn't the word for it but he would be nice and not wake Ambrose up to ask him.

Ambrose could solve all of the metaly, wiry, glass bit problems that the O.Z. had. Glitch would solve everything else, because if he didn't who else was going to?

* * *

Meanwhile in the wilderness of the O.Z. Wyatt Cain was considering a very different set of problems. Such as how he was going to get three horses, Jeb, himself, Tip, and a pack mule to the other side of a rather large ravine that hadn't been on any previous map that Tip had in her possession. She was, of course, elated for some wonderful landmark to sketch in on the new maps she was making but well... she didn't have to think about how they were going to get over it or around it. Maybe they'd get lucky. Maybe someone had built a bridge. He sighed and sat down by the dying fire, picking up the report he'd been working on before he'd gotten up to glare at that damned ravine.

The morning was still gray but the suns were rising in unison and it looked like it was going to be a good day. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was going to be a good day. He felt a little crazy, telling himself that every morning. It was just that... Sometimes he needed reminding. It had been a crazy year. With the O.Z. finally back in the hands of its real Queen there was so much that needed to be done and undone. Silly things. Like updating the maps of the OZ. Like an unofficial census. Cain leaned back and watched a hawk circle slowly over the edge of the ravine before swooping into the trees on the other side.

The thought of being a Tin Man during the whole reconstruction had chafed at him. He wasn't that good, not good enough to take the Commissioner job that had been offered to him. It was all too much too soon and the Queen had understood, picking out a handful of projects she hadn't wanted anyone else to handle, he had gotten his choice. There had also been the choice to stay, just stay in Central City. He'd considered it. He almost went through with it when he thought...

Cain closed his eyes and then looked down at his report, which he carefully put the finishing details on. He'd sign it later. The official seal was somewhere in Tip's bags anyway. Instead he shuffled the papers back into his pack until he slipped a worn envelope stuffed with paper from it. He pulled the newest sheet out of it, smirking a bit at the picture on the envelope, it was Azkadellia half on a horse with her skirts bunched up looking fit to kill,

_Dear Cain,_

_As you can see, father has has gotten us horses. Az didn't do quite as well as me in riding. But I swore off those stupid dresses ages ago. It's been crazy here. The whole royal everything is going to move out of Central City by the end of summer. They finished fixing the Winter Palace and it looks wonderful! I'll send you a drawing next time I write._

_But well, moving a whole palace of people from one to another is proving difficult. There's apparently more staff to hire and all sorts of junk. Luckily Az is overseeing most of it so all I have to do is nod and try to make sure my sketchbooks don't get carried off to some unknown attic. _

_Raw stopped by to report in to my mother, he's been made chief of his people. Chief! Apparently because he's the bravest. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit smug. All in all we've been doing good. Mother and father are almost deliriously happy now that all the big stuffs been smoothed out._

_Oh, and Glitch wants to make sure he says hello. He's afraid he'll forget and Ambrose won't remind him because he's started working on something. They still argue like chickens but I think they've gotten better at listening to each other. He also wants you to bring him something when you come back. He hasn't said what. He says, very confidently mind you, that you should know what he likes._

_Also since I'm writing this letter in front of my mother I'm supposed to gently mention that the new Commissioner is now the ex-Commissioner. Again. Apparently the last three 'just haven't worked out'. I think that's how my mom says that they just aren't you. _

_There, now that I'm done panhandling on behalf of my loved ones, I can ask how you and Jeb are doing and if you've killed the Tip yet. Mom says that to the north is all forests until you reach the Skittern Mountains. It sounds great! I hope I can travel when all the reconstruction is over. I really want to see FinAqua again..._

Cain looked up as yelling interrupted DG's words and frowned. The other two thirds of this little venture were walking out of a copse towards the campsite. Tip was gesturing wildly with... something smeared all over half of her, making her short red hair stick up and Jeb looked like he'd been dumped in a pond.

"...hadn't have climbed that tree!"

"I told you I had it under control!"

"It was covered in bees!"

They both fell silent as they reached the edge of the campsite and found Cain with a not-so-pleased look on his face.

Tip was the first to regain her composure, "Hi! I though you'd gone for a walk."

"I finished it. Just what...? Do I want to know?"

Jeb narrowed his eyes, "She wandered off again..."

"I could see you from where I was."

"When I found her she was hanging out of a tree that was covered in bees. Bees were coming off it in sheets, like rain."

Tip merely rolled her green eyes, "He's completely over exaggerating."

"Bees," was all that Jeb said as he went over to his pack and started pulling out dry clothes.

Tip shrugged a strap off her shoulder and held out two jars that were tied to it, both filled with golden honey, "I was getting this. Jeb saw bees and freaked out, he went one way, I went the other. He found a rather nice lake to the northeast and I found a low place where I think we can get across the ravine."

"So it was a profitable venture?"

Tip grinned, a white line in her caramel skin, as she left the honey at his feet, "Of course. Now I'm going to wash."

Cain watched her yank clothes out of her pack and heard her conversation pick up as she joined Jeb and they both headed down to the stream they had been following for the last week. He shook his head and his eyes flitted back down.

_...Actually there's a lot of places I'd like to see again. Y'know when I'm not running for my life. I did actually go back to Milltown recently. It's being rebuilt too, I'm kind of excited about it._

_Anyway, I hope this reaches you before you send your next report back. I want more than three lines Cain! It's boring here! I don't know how much more I can take. I may not need anyone to beat up longcoats for me anymore but that doesn't mean I don't miss you. _

There was a little scribbled heart and the letters DG underneath it all, and Cain sighed. He'd been dodging around it for half a annual now. He was going to have to send the girl a proper letter sooner or later. More than three lines. He could barely get three lines written before some crisis came up that demanded his attention. Last time it had been storming so badly he wasn't even sure how they were going to ride much less sit down to write. The letter that had come two months ago came in the middle of Jeb shooting a bear that was charging Tip and Cain had spent the next hour with the sprite stuck to him in fear. Before that... Cain sighed and looked around, then down at the honey. It was possible that the bees had been the crisis of the day.

His eyes ran over the letter again. He was probably going to have to report in to the Winter Palace at the end of the year. It was estimated that the whole project would take two to three years and it had, give or take a week here and there. But it was turning into spring and the year was almost over. He'd have to... He'd have to go back sometime.

_They still argue like chickens but I think they've gotten better at listening to each other._

It was strange. DG writing about the both of them, like it was perfectly normal. Maybe it was by now. They had stayed, they had gotten used to Ambrose. They hadn't felt... Cain took a deep breath and folded up the letter again. No. He was not going to go there. Not today, not in the middle of the forest with Jeb and Tip whispering to each other over the fire trying to decipher what was bothering him now. It was bad enough he knew they'd figure it out sooner or later, with Jeb asking questions that he answered automatically and Tip making up such fanciful stories about his 'sordid past' that he had to correct her before he went up in flames from embarrassment.

Though he supposed it was a constant combination of Jeb's quiet approval and Tip's unabashed nature that had kept him smiling after all was said and done. It would have been easy to just well, slide back into that tin box. He'd gotten the vengeance he thought wanted but as a result, he also got what he'd forgotten he _needed_. Adora would have chastised him for being such a silly ass. He'd found in the last year that he could think her name without the pain threatening to crush him whole. He could even suss out memories when Jeb asked him questions. Now really the only thing bothering him was...

Well, Glitch.

He probably shouldn't think about it. Probably. He was going to have to sooner or later. Especially if he was going to have to report to the Palace. So, he had half an annual to decide if it was worth it. If talking to Glitch was going to be worth the aggravation of wanting to just hit Ambrose in the face for being such a smug... Cain closed his eyes and counted. Bloody Tip made him count when he was angry. He'd told her it was stupid and that he was never going to do it but she'd proven as stubborn as DG when it came to some things. Of course he was never going to tell her that if he just shut his mind up and did it, it worked.

He opened his eyes when he hit twenty-five and took a deep breath.

He'd almost hit him that afternoon in the library.

He'd almost cracked that advisor right in the jaw.

It was only the knowledge that it was Glitch's jaw as well that stopped him.

Ambrose had to go and say...

He had to go and say what Cain feared was true. That he was using Glitch. That he didn't really love him, he was just using him to stifle the grief he felt... and... and then he had made that stupid comment about 'suppressing' Glitch in the future, like that lump of clay in a jar could just wash over Glitch and pretend he never existed.

Cain started counting again.

He didn't think he'd been that angry since Zero had locked him in that box. That feeling of helplessness had torn up him with a vengeance as well. He liked Glitch, maybe he didn't love him but damn it he _cared_ about him. Enough so that the thought of Ambrose just taking over sounded like a murder to his ears. To his _heart_. There was no way he was going to just stand around and watch Glitch fade away, replaced by those cold eyes. He also knew it wasn't polite to just slap the Queen's advisor until he got his friend back. So he'd ran. He'd told himself he hadn't until Tip with her endlessly incessant chatter had dragged it out of him one night and Jeb had simply looked over the stew he was stirring and said it.

_So you ran off? From Ambrose?_

A 'no' had been forming on his lips when he'd realized that his son had been spot on. He'd ran off, with a purpose he could easily hide behind, but in the end it was still running.

He could hear laughter from the stream and the suns had broken through the clouds. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and dug an older, more worn envelope from his pack. It was one of his favorites, for DG's talent, not just because of the subject. It was a pencil drawing of Glitch. Very definitely Glitch, in the brand new coat of the Queen's advisor, grinning with a sheaf of papers falling out from under his arm. Slowly Cain waited a beat and then he turned the envelope over. It was Ambrose now, straight backed in a chair, reading, wearing spectacles, probably not even aware that DG was sketching him. Again Cain turned the envelope over and over in his hands.

It was like that toy Jeb had when he was little. That paper disc between two strings, with a bird on one side and a cage on the other. Cain could remember Jeb sitting in his lap as he twirled the string between his fingers watching the bird appear in the cage as the paper spun. If he twirled the envelope fast enough, what would he get? Ambrose? Glitch? Something of the both of them? Cain shook his head as he slid the envelope back into his pack, it didn't matter. There wasn't really a bird in the cage. It was just an illusion. His eyes seeing what they wanted to see. He waited a moment, to make sure the laughter was still there and that he could clear his head enough to pull a blank sheet of paper out of his pack,

_Dear DG..._


	3. Conversations and Choice

**Title:** Binary Means Two

**Rating:** Still PG, eventually NC-17 hopefully.

**Parings:** Cain/Glitch/Ambrose, you know it's awesome when there's two slashes in there. Also, Jeb/OC

**Summary:**An annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities.

**Part Three: Conversations and Choice**

Ambrose looked over the main console of the Sun Seeder. Everything looked to be operational. The breakers were holding and the power levels were finally stable and in the green. It had taken almost a month of reworking until he had to, rather abashedly, ask the Queen for use of the Emerald. With the crystal acting as a main conductor he could produce enough power to provide electricity for half of the O.Z. as well as keep the Sun Seeder on it's original course of extending and enhancing the growing season. He went over the numbers again carefully.

The Advisor was by himself, the main console being down a flight of stairs in essentially what was one of the lower floors of the tower, but he could still hear the clank and bustle of workers in the higher levels. The Witches tower was almost all cleared out, leaving just the Sun Seeder. He'd left his coat hanging over a rail somewhere, and he'd rolled up his sleeves. His reading glasses were dangling from his mouth as he checked dials and his notes. It all added up, the power levels were maintaining wonderfully, another month of tests and they could switch to full automation.

For the first time in a long time, Ambrose grinned. All the preliminaries were done. It was at around this time that he realized he'd been humming. Some waltz he hadn't heard in years, which struck him as a bit odd as he cleared his throat and pulled his glasses out of his mouth. It must be Glitch...

Ambrose froze, "Glitch?"

Silence for another moment and then, "Huh? Are you done?"

"Yes, Glitch... Um."

"Yeah?"

"You've just been rather quiet lately."

"You were busy, and I'm kind of tired of fighting."

It was so matter-of-fact that Ambrose paused for a moment as he rolled his sleeves back down, taking the time to carefully button them at the wrist. It had been a month, hadn't it? With only limited comments made from the other man. No fussing, no unguarded anger, he'd been a bare shadow of the usual sing song that was Glitch in the back of his mind.

They hadn't argued in weeks. Could it be...? Perhaps his other half was.. fading? Or he'd forgotten about the tin man... Ambrose knew he should be relieved. He was _trying_ to move on. _Trying_ to forget the tin man that had suddenly appeared in what had once a blank spot in his mind. They argued about forgetting him, about remembering him. They were _always _arguing about Cain. Even if that wasn't what they were fighting about, that had been the undertone, the taste of it. Now Glitch merely hummed happily to himself as Ambrose slipped his... their coat on and felt a pang of something... remorse, maybe.

"Glitch?"

"Yes?"

He shouldn't. He was going to shatter any peace they had, "Have you heard from... Cain lately?"

Ambrose closed his eyes as he slid his glasses into his breast pocket. Waiting for the argument to begin, the silence to return or worse yet, a questioning noise, some sign that something had gone wrong with his other half.

"Oh yeah! He wrote DG a whole letter! She was very impressed! I mean, I kinda was too. Cain never writes, but he sent two pages! DG says it's cause he's finally starting to miss us. Oh! I was supposed to tell you that they found an old iron mine, Cain said you might be interested in it, up by the hills in um... Gillikin country!"

Ambrose blinked, his head tilting a bit. That _was_ something he was interested in. But why would the tin man...?

"When did all of this come up?"

"Over breakfast."

"I don't eat breakfast."

A feeling of distinct sheepishness radiated from the corner of his mind, "I know, but sometimes I wake up and I'm hungry, well you're hungry but you don't know it cause you worked so much. I mean you're busy all day, so I thought I'd take some mornings when you're really tired. I didn't think you'd mind."

Ambrose felt his head shaking as a small smile came over his features for a moment, "It's all right. I mean, a bit unsettling, but I was wondering why I never seemed to be hungry in the mornings."

"Mystery solved!"

Glitch laughed incredibly cheerfully and only then did Ambrose feel the sense of relief he had been expecting.

Glitch grinned. He'd been waiting for the Sun Seeder to be finished. He'd told DG his plan, well his half a plan, he wasn't very good at plans. She'd told him to wait, for Ambrose to finished his big things first cause he was going to need his attention... Az had too, cause she had been in the same room as DG when he'd said his plan and he didn't think that it would be fair to drag DG out of the room, especially when Az was doing so much better, she had even smiled over breakfast and was really smart too now that she was talking... Wait... He'd gone off on a tangent and now Ambrose was shutting the grate over the stairs so unau... unauthored... person...? Personal? So people that didn't belong there couldn't get in. But DG had a really good plan and then Az added to it and Glitch didn't understand how it was supposed to work but they had both told him to not rush Ambrose and that the best thing for him was Glitch and time. Which he really didn't understand either, but he trusted the sisters.

"Umm... Ambrose?"

"Hm?" The man said as he made his way down the hall, half paying attention to his notes and half paying attention to where he was going, seemingly satisfied now that he had made sure Glitch was still there.

"Um, I had an idea."

Which is what Glitch would have said if he hadn't have been so nervous, so what had come out was,

"Umihadanidea..."

He waited patiently as Ambrose climbed a set of stairs and picked apart the messy sentence he'd been given.

"An idea?"

He sounded interested. That was good. Interested was good!

"Yeah, cause I've been thinking and stuff and maybe we should like do something um... together."

Ambrose was quiet and Glitch was bouncing up and down, only he wasn't because he'd been figuring out this whole sharing a body thing and how DG said if he thought about it he probably didn't have to take over everything when he did something in his head, like he could frown but he would just _know_ he was frowning, instead of everything showing up on the outside.

"Um, Glitch, I feel that I should bring up the fact, that well, we do_everything_ together. So I'm not getting your meaning..."

"No! I mean, well, we're together in the fact that we are each other but not, cause of the body and the re-braining... But well, it's more like we take turns, isn't it? Like you go off to work and when you're done, I go talk to DG and walk around the garden but we never do anything we both like. At the same time."

Glitch squeezed hie eyes shut and waited, his pretend eyes of course, he let Ambrose use their real eyes for frowning and then blinking,

"I think I see."

Glitch grinned, making it accidentally show on their real face, "Really?

"You're proposing something that interests the both of us. But what?"

"Well, I was thinking..."

"You've been doing a lot of that lately."

"I had to do something, you're still boring most of the time. With the writing and imaginary numbers! Now that's just strange, how can a number be imaginary?"

"You were thinking Glitch."

"Oh yeah. I was thinking we should build something."

Ambrose frowned at the comment as he squinted when he stepped out of the tower into the suns. Workers bustled about and it didn't take him long to find the trio of guards he'd come with and organize a ride back to Central City. It wasn't until he was sitting by himself in the back of a truck, with his legs crossed at the ankles watching the tower become a speck in the distance, did he answer.

"Build what? Do you enjoy building things? I thought..."

Glitch chuckled, "Sure, I like building stuff! I like it as much as you do. I'm just not any good at big things, like the Sun Seeder. So... something small?"

"Something small?"

"Yeah! Just for us."

Ambrose nibbled absently on his bottom lip, it was a rather appealing idea. A small break in between larger projects. It would also give him time to go through the workshop before they had to move everything into the Winter Palace. He turned the idea over and over in his head. Something small. Just for themselves...

"What did you have in mind?"

It was strange, somehow, to feel his other half smile.

* * *

"Cain! The mail's caught up with us!"

Cain looked up from shaving as Tip's yelling was followed by the sound pf her thundering down the hall of the inn they'd found. He wiped the rest of his face dry, turning his head this way and that, trying to see if he missed anything in the silver of mirror on the wall.

It was another second before his door opened, without even a knock, and Tip stood there grinning, wearing her boots, breeches and one of Jeb's shirts, tapping an envelope against her lips.

"We've been summoned to the Winter Palace and you've got another love letter." Tip pretend to swoon like a demure courtier, "My darling Cain, I can't express in words how much your absence pains me. I can hardly live with the hideous thought of you being out in the wilderness faced by trials and bears!"

Cain found himself rolling his eyes as he took a step towards her, "You loony, give it here."

Tip rolled away from him towards the bed laughing, this was a familiar game. Tip was tiny but fast and when she wanted to she could make Cain feel like a lumbering bear. She sat down on the bed fluttering her eyes, still making up her imaginary letter,

"I don't know how I'll ever get by without you. I miss your blue eyes and your brawny arms and your tight..."

"That's it."

He rushed the bed as she squealed and tried to scramble off the end. Lucky he caught ahold of her waist, then all hundred pounds of her was pinned under his arm and the letter was in his hand. Cain's blue eyes flashed over the sketch of the Winter Palace that adorned the left half of the envelope before looking down at Tip.

"You need to spend more time working on those maps of yours and less time badgering me. That's the princess you're poking fun at."

Tip grinned as he released her and he couldn't help but smile back, only a little though.

"She'll forgive me, if I ask nice, and I already had this settlement marked down, all I had to do was strike out 'village' and write in 'town'. Besides it's no fun going a whole day without badgering you."

Cain just shook his head as she stretched out on her stomach on the bed next to him, her feet kicking slowly in the air,

"Well, are you going to open it?" she asked after a moment, "it could be fabulous news..."

"I doubt it. When do they want us back?"

"Two weeks, Jeb figured we can cut east a bit and finish up the map of the Orangespiegel caverns and then head north across the valley."

Cain nodded, it was the best plan out of any.

Tip furrowed her brow and looked up at him, "Are you worried? About going back?"

Slowly Cain considered her questions and then shook his head,

"Nothing to be worried about, sprite."

"Dad?"

Both Cain and Tip looked up as Jeb appeared in the doorway with _that look_.

"Now what?"

"Innkeeper found out we're 'government', all of a sudden we haven't paid enough to board the horses."

"Ah, for the love of the Grey Gale," Cain was up in an instant, the letter tucked quickly in his vest.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

DG paused as she slipped into what used to be Ambrose's study and listened,

"I'm serious!"

"That can't be possible. How did you manage to not get arrested? Or at least how did you get out of Central City?"

"I told you! I don't remember! The next thing I remember is waving bye to a truck with a big naked lady on the side!"

"Great Gale, Glitch!"

DG smiled a bit, there was laughter in both their voices. That was... new.

"Ambrose?" she called.

"Hm?"

DG wound her way through the stacks of crates and cloth covered objects to find the Advisor perched on a stool in front of his workbench carefully working some small bit of metal with a pair of pilers. He looked up, his spectacles perched on the end of his nose and his jacket thrown over a crate.

"Ambrose! All the stuff on this floor is moving out today and you're still working on something?"

He ran his hand through his hair while shaking his head dismissively at her and she was hard pressed to tell if he had done it or if Glitch had,

"No, no, this is just a pet project. Something I can take along with me. I finished packing early. I just wanted to make sure those workers know what to do with my instruments."

DG let out a breath that blew her bangs out of her eyes, she was dressed in men's trouser's and boots, again, much to the distress of her mother, with a loose shirt. Her hair was pulled up and there seemed to be straw in it.

"Right. Do you have any string?"

Ambrose frowned at the same time Glitch frowned, the result being a combination that was a bit different from both their frowns and it made DG look twice.

"String? I think I have some of the twine left over from packing. Would that work?"

"Yeah, uh, we're trying to tie the curtains into bundles..." DG trailed off as Ambrose disappeared into other room, humming a bit, and DG scooted over to the workbench.

Glitch hadn't been telling her anything! It sure _sounded _like his plan was working though, in the last two months she'd only walked in on conversations, not arguments, and last night at dinner; which he'd managed to _show up_ _to_, she swore she saw Ambrose laugh, just to himself for a moment. DG frowned, she couldn't tell what the little bits were. A tiny half circle with some gears in it, and a spring? As well as a bit of rough metal that looked like it was being sanded into some shape, a circle? No, maybe a diamond, it only looked half finished.

"Was this what you were looking for?"

She squeaked as she turned around and found Ambrose, or Glitch looking at her, obviously amused, with a ball of twine in his hand and his glasses pushed up on top of his head. DG smiled and took the offered twine.

"Um, what are you making?"

Ambrose was quiet for a second as if he was debating telling her, then finally,

"It's going to be a watch."

"A watch?"

Ambrose nodded as he gathered up the small bits, putting them into a small box he'd taken from his pocket.

"Glitch suggested it, something about us needing more time. I didn't quite catch all of his logic. Also it's small enough that we can work on it at our leisure."

DG grinned, "So you two are getting along, finally?"

Ambrose smiled one of his small smiles, which meant he was almost embarrassed, "So it would seem."

DG smiled, "Good, I was about ready to throw a bucket of water on you next time I caught you fighting."

Ambrose shook his head quickly, a blush spreading across his cheeks, as DG turned and then paused in the doorway, "Um, thanks for the string."

"You're welcome, princess DG."

Ambrose tried to not listen to her giggle as she made her way out of his rooms.

"We should help her."

He blinked as Glitch suddenly pulled to the forefront of their shared mind.

"What?"

"We're done here, aren't we? We're just working on the watch. We should go help her."

Ambrose rolled his shoulders, frowning slightly, "I'm sure she has it under control. DG and Az are very capable young women."

Glitch sighed, which was both rather long as well as noisy, "That's not the point. The point is we're a gentleman. We shouldn't hide all the time."

Ambrose frowned, moments away from slipping back onto the stool, "You already badgered me into going to dinner last night..."

"Which you _liked_."

"I had entirely too much wine."

"Yeah, and oh no you smiled, I know. You told me like seventy times when we woke up today."

"We still have a headache, if you're paying attention."

"I am, so I know it's not that bad."

Ambrose sighed as his excuses were dodged, "We have to tell the workers how to load the glass instruments. It has to be done very carefully, that's why we're waiting _here_, Glitch."

Ambrose was at his line.

Glitch was becoming more and more familiar with this line as he paid more attention to his other half. There was a line, not a real one, like the imaginary one that people talked about crossing, that Ambrose didn't want to cross. But now Glitch knew that if he provided logical reasons, or at least logical _sounding _reasons, he could nudge Ambrose just close enough...

"Y'know, the princesses are on the same floor, and the workers would have to talk to them first before they even came over here. So, it's not like we'd miss them."

A long drawn out sigh came from Ambrose and Glitch smiled as he scooped up the last bits of the watch and slipped them into his vest pocket.

"All right, we'll see if they need any help, but just until the workers get here."

"Of course."

* * *

It was a little after dusk and they were eerily silent. Cain suspected some sort of mischief from the pair of them, either after dinner or sometime during the night. He really didn't want to have to sleep on top of his hat again. He leaned back and picked at his plate, not all that interested in dried meat and boiled potatoes. They were halfway through what passed for dinner. Well him and Jeb were. Tip always bolted her meals like a starving dog, and now she was reading a paper bound book by the firelight while Jeb ate quietly next to her, occasionally peering over at what she was reading before quickly turning back to his food.

If he'd known books would shut her up he'd have brought a crate of them from the city.

Cain huddled up against the pile of saddlebags and satchels, pulling his hat over his eyes. He knew the second he got to the Winter Palace it was going to be chaos. Central City needed a new Commissioner and he knew that with his luck the position wouldn't be filled by the time he arrived. Then Queen Ozma was going to flutter her lavender eyes and ask him what he intended to do now and if he didn't have an answer for her... Maybe he could just settle down. Make a home for Jeb to come back to, build things, farm things, not have to worry about the state of the O.Z. and it's Central City. But the problem was that he _did _worry about things like that. He wondered how the new Tin Men were doing, and how many security details they had on the Palace. He wondered if Ambrose's workshop was secure and if background checks had been done on any new employees...

He probably should get a better hobby. Or stop fussing and do what his mind was trained for. It was a tricky decision he was stuck on...

"Coin for your thoughts, Cain."

He peered up from under his hat as Tip grinned at him over her book.

"My thoughts aren't worth any coin. Keep reading, I was enjoying the quiet."

Cain sighed as Tip giggled, he wasn't going to get any peace now...

"Let me guess, you're either thinking about the palace, the palace's security, or the palace's _advisor_."

Cain reached up and shoved his hat back as Jeb's head snapped up,

"Hey, I thought we agreed not to meddle?"

Tip plopped her book down on her lap, "Nu uh, _you_ said _you_ didn't _want_ to meddle. You didn't actually lay down any not meddling rules."

"I should have..."

"You should have," Cain agreed as he leaned forward and stared into the fire, "and before you badger the hell out of me, I was thinking about the palace."

"Are you going to stay?"

Cain looked up and caught his son's gaze, "Haven't decided yet. You?"

Jeb grinned, and Tip rolled her eyes, "You already know damn well that I'm keepin' him."

Cain smiled as he nodded. There were still a few maps to finish, Jeb and Tip could take care of each other, and maybe do something about those silly looks they gave one another when they though he wasn't looking.

"Just don't trade him for anything..."

"Cain! You cannot still be sore about those apples!"

"They were my apples..."

"And we needed a longer rope to drag you out of that cavern you'd fallen into. I thought it was a fair trade."

"She also traded my bandanna, you know, if we're playing this game."

Tip grumbled as she stood to stab at the fire with a stick, her book in her hand still as she shook her head,

"You men, I thought it was women that were supposed to remember everything. Fine, we get to the palace I'll get you a bandanna and Cain can have a whole sack of apples!"

They were both laughing by now, Jeb grinning as Tip tisked at him, and Cain trying to stifle his behind a fist. Tip pretended to ignore them as she reached over Cain to dig around in her pack,

"Speaking of, what did you trade for that book?"

Tip started and blinked, "Um, just some of the extra furs I had, after the Lankin Woods..."

Cain watched as she slowly slid the book around herself and he frowned. Well if that wasn't suspicious...

"Ah! Cain, no!"

He was grinning as he snatched the book, and stood quickly, jumping around the fire as she futilely tried to tackle or climb him or something.

Jeb was grinning and shaking his head, "Tip, I told you to not make such a big deal about it!"

Can had skimmed about a paragraph before he looked down at Tip with a look that made her freeze with her hands fisted in his shirt,

"Tip?"

"Yes?"

"Is this one of those dirty romance novels?"

"...yes."

"And are 'Ethan' and 'Alex' both men?"

She blushed redder than a tomato and squeaked, "Yes."

"Tip, you fiend."

"You're reading it!"

Cain grinned as he skimmed the rest of the drivel on the page, "I'm trying to figure out what a 'love muscle' is. You really read this junk?"

Jeb nearly fell over laughing as Tip tried to yank Cain to the ground, "Give it back! It's not junk it's literature!"

"Tip, it's smut."

Tip looked embarrassed enough to bite him, so he lowered the book as she burst out, "Well, you're the one that wants to make smut with the advisor!"

The whole woods seemed to go silent as Tip's eyes widened, with only Jeb breathlessly laughing in the background.

"Sit down and read your book."

He sat back down as she scrambled away to half hide behind Jeb. That was the other tricky decision. He had genuine affection for Glitch. He didn't know about Ambrose, but maybe those two had reached a truce in the last annual or so. He wasn't stupid, he couldn't deny that he felt things. He loved Adora, but she was gone, and he knew she wouldn't have wanted her memory to make him unhappy. But he just wasn't sure what had happened between then and now to make him... He knew that if he was allowed, if he allowed himself, to care about Glitch the way he'd been doing before Ambrose that it was going to...

It was going to very quickly turn into something out of his control.

Just like it had the first time Adora smiled at him, and the first time he had walked her home.

"So?"

Cain blinked and looked up at Jeb, who was smiling but serious with Tip grinning behind him.

"So what?"

"So, are you going to do anything about _that_?"

Jeb knew, but he never just came out and said anything about his fathers obvious distress over another _man_. Cain found himself grateful for that for no small number of reasons. Embarrassment actually being one of the lesser ones. Cain let out a sigh,

"Haven't decided yet."

Jeb just chuckled, "Well, you better soon."

Cain just grumbled and pulled his hat back down over his eyes.

* * *

Ambrose blinked, tilting his head just a little bit as he wrote out notes at his desk. Glitch was thinking, and he probably didn't think that Ambrose could hear him because his other half went over the words, 'gorgeous', 'grab his...', and 'pants'. Ambrose let out a long breath and cleared his throat,

"Glitch, I can hear you."

It was quiet for a second and then, "Oh, pardon."

Smiling words. Glitch seemed entirely too pleased to care that he'd been caught. Ambrose pushed a little unconsciously at his other half and then quickly closed his eyes,

"Ah! Glitch! You can't have possibly spent that entire journey staring at that man's rear end!"

Glitch broke into laughter as Ambrose tried to shoo away mental images the other had been conjuring, "Not the whole time! You couldn't see it under his jacket anyway. So I didn't really think about it until he took his jacket off..."

"Stop! That is too much information."

Glitch was still chuckling as Ambrose put his pen down before he made a mess, no, he refused to fight about this. If Glitch wanted to think about that man's... bum. Ambrose took a deep breath, well then he could do it. It wouldn't bother Ambrose in the least.

"Really?" Glitch asked, there was a playful edge in his voice.

Ambrose crossed his arms, "I don't see why I should care."

"I think you should."

"Only because you want to do... obscene things with him."

"Mmm-hmm, because we've done them before... I remember now."

Ambrose felt his eyes widen as he suddenly recalled clubs and parties. That one night on the edge of the Munchkin river, and that hurried... in an alleyway before he left Central City for good. They did have a penchant for blonds.

"Ah! Glitch! Stop it! It's... it's overwhelming..."

Glitch bounced patiently in the back of their mind, "Was that why you made Cain go away? He was overwhelming?"

"I did not _make_ that man go anywhere, and I do not want to fight about this now."

"Then we should just talk about it."

Glitch wasn't yelling, he wasn't upset, he was just... questioning. They had been getting along so well and now...

Ambrose shook his head and scooped up some papers as he quickly made his way to the door. Glitch wouldn't dare talk about this if he was speaking to the Queen...

He was only mildly confused when he stepped into the main foyer. Glitch however seemed to be rather amused and thankfully quiet. Ambrose had been up and down the halls of the Winter Palace looking for the Queen, trying to desperately fend off questions from his other half, and found the princesses, whom he supposed would do.. but...

"What_are_ you two doing?"

DG looked up from behind Azkadellia who was sitting up, rather straight, in a low backed chair and there were... feathers.

"We're making wings!"

Ambrose blinked at DG's cheerful reply. DG was gluing gray feathers onto a small cloth and wire frame that Az was currently wearing, rather comfortably by the look on her face. Ambrose recognized one of his biology books spread out on the table by them, showing the patterns of feathers on birds.

"I can see that. Gray feathers?"

"Dove," Az said quietly and Ambrose nodded as if he knew exactly why she was letting her sister use her as a model for... dove wings...

DG huffed and looked up over Az again, "You have no idea what we're doing, do you?"

"Umm..." Ambrose found himself trailing off as he prodded Glitch for an answer but his other half was giggling too much.

Az smiled sweetly and tilted her head towards her sister, "I told you he wasn't paying attention at breakfast."

"Geez, Ambrose, the entire palace has been bustling around all week. The gala that mother's having for solstice? Even if you didn't hear us at breakfast, something must have tipped you off."

Ambrose shook his head, of course he knew about the gala. It had been announced a week ago, in the middle of them settling in. He remembered because he'd been hissing at a crate where the side had cracked and he been worried about the contents when DG had come in and flopped on what was supposed to be his bed, but was currently more of a desk with covers on it at the time, and told him.

"I do recall the gala, I am just unsure as to what feathers and wings have to do with it."

"It's themed," Az said in that quiet tone of hers with a small smile.

Ambrose felt his eyes widen as Glitch practically radiated glee from the back of their mind his previous topic forgotten, "Themed?"

"Yeah," DG turned her attention back to the wings, frowning at the book, "We discussed it but you were grumbling into your coffee at the time. You have to dress up like an animal, kind of. We tried for something else because we didn't want to offend Raw, he's coming you know, but he said it was fine. The messenger said he sounded kind of amused anyway. What are you going as?"

"Going as?"

Az nodded an entirely too amused look on her face as DG looked up again.

"You haven't spoken to the planners at all, have you?"

"Um, no," Ambrose confessed, "I was unpacking and getting the Sun Seeder up to full automation as well as working on my other projects..."

"Oh, did you finish the watch?"

Ambrose froze. The trifle was in his pocket and he could feel Glitch bouncing in excitement. The only thing they had actively argued over during the last month was functionality as opposed to decorative in terms of that particular project, and Ambrose didn't wanted to reveal that Glitch had won a good deal of those arguments.

"Uh..." Ambrose trailed off as Glitch blurted, "Yes! It looks great! Wanna see?"

DG grinned and nodded as Az smiled, "Yes, please."

Ambrose let out a sigh as he pulled the silver chain from his pocket and unlooped it from a button on his vest. In another second Az held the watch between her hands, with DG looking over he shoulder, wide eyes on both of them.

"Wow, Ambrose, that's..."

"It's beautiful," Az whispered as she turned it over in her hands.

It had taken him longer to make than it should have, but Glitch had kept coming up with little ideas and details.

It was in the shape of a heart, because Glitch said they needed to be reminded of that sometimes, and while Ambrose had put up a fuss at first, claiming it was much too feminine, he had to admit now that the shape made for an interesting piece. The back piece was a perfect heart of silver and gently tooled with a spiraling looping pattern that seemed to have no beginning or end. That in turn flowed onto the left half of the cover, only, he'd cut half the pattern out so that the metal served like a filigree window to the left half of the watch face. The right half of the watch had no cover, it was sealed with glass so that whomever looked at it could see half the watch face right away. The right side of the face was done in mother of pear with carefully enameled black numbers in his own style of writing. A thin edge of red surrounded the watch face and the hands of the watch looked to be thin branches of some sort with leaves and knots cut out of thin silver.

He heard Az gasp and watched her smile as she clicked open the half cover. On the left, the watch had no mother of pearl face. He'd left it open so that one could see straight down into the inner working of the piece. It would have given the watch an almost half finished look save for the patterns traced on the very gears themselves, that glinted in sliver, copper, and gold.

It had come out rather nice, although he was prone to think that it could do without all that filigree and fuss, he was rather fond of the bare clockwork half of it and the duality of the piece was not lost on him.

DG laughed as she went back to her feathers, "That's amazing! You better be careful Ambrose, or we're gonna start commissioning jewelry from you."

Ambrose smiled politely as he accepted the watch back and toyed with it in his hand,

"I believe watches are the extent of my talent in that area, Princess. I fear I wouldn't know what to do with jewels and other peoples taste."

DG shook her head, either because he'd just called her princess again or she didn't believe what he'd just said.

"I think you'd do fine, though who were you looking for? You know when you first walked in."

Ambrose blinked, "Ah, I was looking for your mother, I had questions about whom was going to cover the employment for the Sun Seeder. It does need a skeleton staff despite its automation. I don't supposed either of you would know?"

Az shook her head at the same time DG did, "No, we we're only told to help out the gala this week, mom would know. I think she's down in the kitchen with the planners. You could talk to them then, figure out what you're going as before they give you something embarrassing."

Glitch laughed as he went through a list of rather silly and distressing animal costumes, most involving ridiculous ears or tails. He had just gotten to squirrel, when Ambrose bowed at the sisters,

"Thank you, that sounds like an excellent idea."

* * *

Cain sighed as he made his way with Tip and Jeb through the low valley that would put them at the edge of the Northern Island. He looked off at the horizon and then glanced back down at the letter in his lap. He'd completely forgotten about DG's letter, and they'd left that township over a week ago. He should have known something like this would happen.

_Dear Cain,_

_Let me be the first to apologize. Mom's having a solstice gala. Yes, you're going to have to be there and yes, you're going to have to dress up. Just remember were all in the same boat. At least you don't have to wear a dress... _


	4. Hard Decisions Require Thought

**Title:**Binary Means Two

**Rating:** Still PG, eventually NC-17 hopefully.

**Parings:** Cain/Glitch/Ambrose, you know it's awesome when there's two slashes in there. Also, Jeb/OC

**Summary:** A annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities.

**Part Four: Hard Decisions Require Thought**

The tin man, his son, and the mapmaker arrived at the Winter Palace under the cover of darkness. Cain had planned to wait until morning but Tip was adamant that she was not going to be spending the night arse deep in the snow when they were almost there. She didn't care how much Cain grumbled.

Cain squinted up at the darkened palace, it was beautiful now that the ice had been cleared off it. A series of glimmering icy spires cutting through the stars and the clear night sky.

"Cain! Stop stalling!"

He looked up at Tip who was making faces at him and urged his horse forward as they came around to what they had figured was the servants entrance.

"Need I remind you, last time I was here I got shot and fell out of a window into an iced over lake?"

Tip pondered and then laughed, "You never do anything halfway, do you?"

Cain just shook his head as Jeb dismounted and banged on the door. Moments later there was a woman in a servant's uniform looking at them curiously before her face lit up,

"Ah, we've been expecting you."

* * *

Ambrose paced up and down his workshop glaring at the sphere shaped device on his desk. There was really no reason that the tin wouldn't be an excellent super conductor, especially in this environment, but he needed... 

After a moment he blinked and pulled his watch out of his pocket then grimaced as he snapped it shut. Three 'o' clock, and that was definitely not in the afternoon. He stood still a second prodding around in his mind for Glitch but only got a sleepy rambling, something about 'sweetheart'... before nothing. Ambrose sighed. Maybe it was time for bed.

He switched the lights off in the workshop and made his way into the darkened bedroom. Someone had lit the grate without him noticing and he started digging around for something suitable to wear to bed, he really hadn't unpacked any clothing yet, preferring to pull whatever he needed out a few boxes. It would all make it back into the closet eventually...

Ambrose blinked as he heard a clatter and footsteps out in the hall, who in the O.Z. was making all that racket at this hour? He frowned, padding over to the door that let out into the hallway and opened it a crack.

"Your rooms are this way..."

Ambrose blinked as a maid turned the corner and was followed by a small dark skinned, redheaded woman dragging several bags along with her, who was peering up and down hallways. Ambrose watched her wander a few steps down a hallway that the maid _hadn't_ gone down before a hand grabbed her collar and Ambrose felt his heart freeze in his chest.

"What are you doing? She went this way..."

Cain. It was Cain, with that irritable look on his face and melting snow coming off his hat. He tugged the woman a few steps back into the right direction as she fussed about 'exploring' but the blond only shook his head and pointed after the maid,

"Explore in the morning, hurry up."

Ambrose knew that she was grumbling something about 'old men' but Cain was turning around to look behind him and Ambrose only caught a flash of blue before he quickly shut the door.

He pressed his back against it as he listened to the muffled voices and footsteps fade away. He was panicking. No. Don't. It was fine. It was Cain. It was alright. It was... The tin man was going to be so angry at him. He closed his eyes and hissed,

"Glitch!"

Nothing.

"Glitch! Wake up!"

There was silence and then an almost fumbling feeling before,

"What? Hmm, I'm awake... What's wrong?"

"It's Cain."

"Cain!"

"Shh! Yes, he's here, he's..."

"Ohhh yeah. He's supposed to be."

Ambrose blinked and a bit of the panic dropped out of his voice, "I'm assuming this is one of those things that come up at breakfast that you never remember to tell me?"

He knew Glitch smiled, "Um, yeah. The Queen called him to the palace two weeks ago..."

"Two weeks!"

"She wanted him to report in! DG says her mom's going to try and get him to be Commissioner or help her pick him out or something..."

"She wants that man to be Commissioner of Central City?"

"Maaaybe."

"I need to lie down."

"That is a great idea. That's why we're geniuses..."

"Glitch, do not fall asleep right now."

Glitch sighed as Ambrose kicked off his pants, settling for just sleeping in his boxers and undershirt. He groaned into the pillows as he pulled the blankets over his head. This was... This was... No good could come from this...

He felt Glitch uncurl a bit in the back of their mind as his other half woke up more and sighed,

"Come on, you have to talk about it sometime."

"He's going to be very, very mad at us, Glitch."

"And why is that?"

"Umm..."

"The library?"

"Yes."

Glitch flopped down and Ambrose felt the creasing frown that he was certain his other half was giving him.

"Why won't you tell me?"

Ambrose was silent, near trembling and Glitch blinked as a memory surfaced and flitted between their shared mind...

_I-I don't want Ambrose to be m-mad..._

_I don't want you to be mad at me..._

Glitch blinked, "You don't want me to be mad? At you? Why would I be mad at you?"

"You don't know what I told him!"

Glitch fought to not yell back, no, that was how the arguments started, "Ambrose, what is going to make me so mad? What made Cain mad? I can't be mad or not mad if I never know."

Slowly Ambrose sat up, dragging the blankets around him and curling his arms around his knees. He hadn't sat like this since after the operation, when he'd curl up in the middle of the bed, and will everyone to not touch him.

"I told him I..." Ambrose fought with his words and he felt the glimmer of concern from Glitch, the feeling of comfort from the other.

"Glitch, I told him I didn't need you. I told him that I could suppress you... That I was going to make you go away..."

Glitch was quiet and Ambrose hid his face in his hands. Glitch was never going to talk to him again. It was going to be so quiet and he was going to be alone again...

"Why didn't you?"

Ambrose lifted his head and blinked, his eyes wet, "What?"

"Why didn't you make me go away?" Glitch didn't sound mad... Just hurt, and curious.

Slowly Ambrose took a breath, "I can't do it. It isn't possible. I tried to shove you away at the beginning, remember, when I kept panicking?"

"The headaches?"

"And then we threw up and I couldn't stand to try it anymore."

"But you knew that before you talked to Cain..."

"I know Glitch. I lied to him."

Confusion blossomed from his other half. That was the beauty of Glitch, he knew what lies were, he just never saw the sense in them.

"Why would you do that?"

"I needed to make him go away. It was too much... Too soon... Because he loved you. Because he could have loved _us_." Ambrose's voice broke on the last word and he buried himself in the blankets as if he could hide from what he knew Glitch was going to ask.

But Glitch was quiet. He was thinking, thinking and _understanding_.

"He overwhelmed you, like you said. It was too much and... and you got scared."

Ambrose nodded from inside the blankets, trying hard to not rock back and forth like he had while he was getting used to his body again.

He heard Glitch sigh and after a moment felt the warmth circling his mind, and he knew Glitch would hug him if he could.

"Ambrose, you need to make me a promise."

Ambrose blinked as he poked his head out of the blankets,

"I need to what?"

"I want you to promise me that if you're scared, you'll tell me."

Ambrose laughed, but it sounded hollow in the quiet of the bedroom, so he swallowed and pulled the blankets higher over his shoulders.

"And I suppose if I tell you, you're going to make it all better?"

"Of course! That's what I'm here for, isn't it?"

Ambrose felt himself smile as a tendril of relief rose through him, "Of course."

Ambrose scooted back until he leaned against the headboard, looking at the mess he'd made of the bed sheets.

"Glitch, what if he doesn't like us anymore?"

"Well, we don't know that now do we? And what do we say about assumptions without evidence?"

Ambrose smiled, settling back and for a moment heard his mothers voice, "An assumption without evidence is as useful as a birdhouse for a fish."

He chuckled and he felt Glitch beam. It was okay. That wasn't the same as saying it wouldn't be hard, but it wasn't impossible. Maybe... Maybe talking to the tin man wouldn't be so bad after all.

"So! We need a plan!"

"We're going to attempt this logically, are we?"

"Do we know any other way?"

"Hm, I guess not. So, a plan?"

Glitch nodded as sagely as he could, "We need... to have a... a scouting mission! Y'know, test the waters, check the weather, poke the button..."

"I get it, we need more information."

"Yes! We do wonderfully when we have all the information. So... hm... Do you think he'll come to breakfast?"

Ambrose grinned, "Gods, I hope so, I won't have to deal with him then."

"Exactly! I bet I could find out if he still likes us!"

"Well, he might still like you, I don't think he ever..."

"Shush! He has to like both of us now, and if he doesn't, well, then we'll just think of something else. We're smart."

Ambrose nodded as he sighed while he rearranged blankets and scooted under them. This was insane. This was... It was overwhelming but... It was normal, wasn't it? People liked other people and if he didn't feel... Then... Well, then he was just a brain in a jar. Ambrose frowned, he didn't like that at all. No, it was going to be fine. He'd send Glitch out to breakfast and he'd figure things out. Glitch was good at that, he could read people, and Ambrose could translate that into the numbers and figures that he understood. But his mind kept flashing back to those blue eyes in the library, flashing with anger and hurt, real hurt and he'd done that. He'd flinched when Cain had stood up like he was going to...

"Glitch?"

"Hm?"

"What if he wants to hit me?"

"We can take him."

"We can?"

"Don't you remember the two seasons you spent learning self defense?"

"Well, yes, but I've never... Glitch, have you hit someone?"

"I've hit a couple of someones, kicked them too."

Ambrose blinked, but he was slightly impressed, he remembered not doing very well during those classes, "Glitch, you delinquent."

"One of us has to be."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jeb had just settled in for the night when his door opened and Tip slid in, wearing one of the palace robes. She was frowning and he fought not to cringe from the force of it. 

"Gimme your pajama top."

He blinked for a second before she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm not speaking in code. You'll still have your bottoms."

Jeb sighed and dragged his shirt over his head, tossing it at her as he settled back under the covers. She always knew when something was bothering him, that was why he loved her. He closed his eyes as he listened to the rustling of cloth, then the light went out. In another moment he was being prodded and he lifted the blankets, waiting for a moment before she squirmed against him and buried her cold nose in the crook of his neck.

"My father will kill us if he catches you in here."

"Your father won't do a damn thing but blush like a virgin and you know it."

"That's because you intimidate him."

"Hell yes, I do."

Silence passed between them as he curled his arm around her waist and listened to the calm.

"Are you going to tell me anything, or do I have to guess?"

Jeb smiled, "I'd be afraid of anything you'd guess."

"Then out with it, or I'll start waxing psychology."

"It's just... dad..."

He more felt Tip chuckle than heard her, "Are we back on the 'oh my gods, my dad likes a guy'?"

"A little bit."

"You know you're going to have to give me a better explanation or I'll just tell you to put on your big girl pants and deal with it."

"Well, it's just, what if it works out? What if they... y'know... in front of people?"

"You mean like what if it turns out they are madly in love with each other and they hold hands and make kissy faces and embarrass the hell out of you?"

"In not as many words, yes."

"First of all, has your dad ever been prone to displays of public affection?"

"No."

"Then I think you're fine."

"It's not him I'm worried about."

"Look, if Glitch runs up and plants one on your father, your dad is going to be embarrassed enough for _both _of you."

It made sense. He hated it when Tip made sense but he didn't have anything to argue back with. He felt her smile against his throat,

"Come on, farm boy, work with me here. You want your dad to be happy, right?"

"Yes."

"And if Glitch makes him happy?"

"Then I should..."

"Man up and shut up. Besides, we have already defined your father as definitely 'not gay'."

"How did we figure that again?"

"I am assuming you recall our little foray into Westfall, when he broke that guys arm because the idiot couldn't keep his hands off your fathers ass. I don't think I need to tell you how much of a heterosexual reaction that was."

Jeb grinned, that had been epic, or maybe just the look on his fathers face when he'd figured out exactly where that man's hand was. Tip stretched against him and for a moment he forgot what he was thinking about but then she started talking again,

"He just... likes Glitch, or Ambrose. Your dad's kinda confusing when he talks about them. I mean he's not gay... Glitch and Ambrose, they're just... special. I don't think he even knows why," Tip frowned and her fingertips traced sleepy patterns on his shoulder, "it's fine Jeb. 'S nice, everyone should do it."

"Everyone should fall in love with people of the same sex?"

Tip giggled, "No, silly, everyone should fall in love..."

Jeb smiled, "You say such sweet things when you're half asleep."

"I always say sweet things... I'm sweet."

"You're crazy."

"Some people call it 'open minded'."

"Not all of us were raised by drag queens..."

He got a prod in the side for that one and a sleepy murderous look, "Hey, I thought we agreed not to haul my upbringing into this?"

"Couldn't help it."

Another beat of silence before Jeb bent down and kissed the top of her head,

"City girl."

"Country boy, now go to sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be fun and I wanna watch."

* * *

Glitch sighed and stared in the mirror again. He'd gone over what he was wearing twice already. Not that he was nervous! Just that sometimes he got the buttonholes wrong or didn't tuck stuff in properly and it wouldn't get fixed until Ambrose woke all the way up. If he saw Cain this morning he didn't want to look completely like a headcase. He was an advisor, an important person. He could even remember stuff now. But right now all he had to remember was breakfast and to smile. Cain might not even come to breakfast, he'd had a long journey. The man might be _tired_. 

Glitch frowned but nodded as he turned from the mirror, it looked like everything was in it's place. He'd even combed his hair, it was just long enough to tie back now and Ambrose did that but Glitch liked it loose. It was kind of one of the things that he did so people could tell them apart right away, like whistling, or not buttoning his coat. Sometimes he just didn't want to answer questions that were supposed to go to Ambrose. He flicked his watch, _their_ watch open and peeked at it before sticking it into the pocket of the vest he'd remembered to wear. Hmm, almost seven, he was a little earlier than usual but not by much.

He hummed cheerfully as he made his way down halls, taking the time to check his mental map of the palace that _actually came_ when he thought about it. He was a floor up from the palace kitchens, which was very exciting because it was much closer that before.

"Good morning, Mr. Glitch."

He grinned when he entered the kitchens, the cook always knew who he was and sure enough he was the first one there, "Hi Rose! Do I smell cinnamon?"

The large woman grinned and popped open the oven just a crack to let him peer inside. Cinnamon rolls. He didn't know why Ambrose didn't love breakfast.

"I supposed you'll be wanting one of those along with your usual?"

Glitch nodded, "Yes, please, thank you."

He made his way over to a discreet and scarred wooden table in the corner. DG had dragged it out of storage after finding it, saying that it was a perfect breakfast table. Of course no one had known what she'd meant at the time. But DG had said that breakfast was the most important meal and that it should be fun and shared. Glitch had though that was a wonderful idea even as Ambrose had frowned. So every morning since then, all of them, DG, Az, the Queen, Ahamo, or sometimes just a few of them would meet and talk about the silly things, all the things you couldn't talk about at dinner when you were trussed up like a goose and people were starting to send courtiers your way.

Sometimes people just stopped in to get a cup of something and say hello, or usually Ahamo would come to get a tray for him and Queen Ozma but he'd talk a bit while Rose put it together. Occasionally it was just Glitch or DG would complain that she missed everyone at breakfast but it was one of those nice things that could change day to day but everyone always remembered it.

Glitch liked things like that best of all.

He blinked as Rose came by and deposited his first course on the table smiling as she left him orange ginger tea with a lot of sugar and just a little milk, a sliced apple with a bit of honey, and two slices of toast with butter. He ate a lot during breakfast, mostly because Ambrose was a notorious meal skipper, and Glitch couldn't always drag him away from whatever he was doing to go have dinner.

The palace was coming alive now, it was going to be bustling all day with the gala tomorrow night. He'd peeked into the ballroom yesterday on their way back from speaking to the Queen and it had looked great! But Ambrose was still nervous about going so Glitch had resolved to be excited for both of them. He didn't see why it had to be so nerve wracking. It was a gala. One went there to have fun, to dance and talk. Not a lot of people got to go to gala's. Of course not a lot of people lived in a palace and made amazing things while being surrounded by amazing people. Glitch smiled over his tea, if only Ambrose knew how great life was. Nearly perfect even. _Nearly_.

* * *

"Cain! Get up and eat breakfast!" 

It would be unfortunate to have made it all the way back to the palace for him to have to kill her now. But he had come up with this inane theory that when they reached the palace he'd be rid of her ridiculous wake up calls. But no. It couldn't be that easy. Cain pushed himself out of the blankets and glared at the hall door whose knob was rattling.

"Cain! You locked it!"

Damn right he did.

"Go away Tip!"

"No! Get up and do things!"

"Go bother Jeb!"

"I already did! He wouldn't get up either!"

Cain growled as he slid out of bed, sleep rumpled and frowning in a pair of pajama pants. He quickly twisted the lock and yanked the door open. Tip was standing out in the hall in a _dress_, and smiling like a perfect little angel. Cain blinked, he could have just told her to go away and gone back to bed but now he had to _ask_,

"Who'd you steal that from?"

Tip frowned, "I've always had it. I just couldn't wear it. Now come on sunshine, are you going to come to breakfast or not?"

Cain sighed and glared at her, "Go on, I'll be after you once I get dressed."

"Promise?"

"Fine."

"All right, the kitchen's downstairs and if you're not there in fifteen minutes you have to dance with me at the gala tomorrow!"

Cain blinked as the fluff of green silk that was Tip bustled down the hallway and he fought not to curse as he shut the door and stared at the bed, calculating just how much worse Tip could make tomorrow if he skipped breakfast today.

Cain rubbed his hands over his face, no, it couldn't be worth it, no matter how soft those sheets were.

Clothes were yanked out of unpacked bags and Cain frowned as his mind started up again. He'd been trying very hard to not think about anything in particular. Not about the Queen or the gala or Glitch Ambrose.

Now they all seemed to make a line and demand that he deal with them. The Queen had to be the easiest, he _did not want_ to be Commissioner, however if she wished to employ him in a lesser capacity he was pretty sure he could deal with that. The gala was going to be east too. He was going to have to wear something stupid, talk about frivolous things and keep Tip or DG from dragging him out onto the dance floor. But it was only for one night and the chances of survivability, when he really thought about it, were high.

That just left the most difficult topic.

Which his mind expertly skirted over in favor of him getting dressed. If he thought about Glitch, he thought about Ambrose and he did not want to think about those narrow brown eyes and that thin line that seemed incapable of smiling. Instead he ran a comb through his hair and buttoned his vest as he looked out into the hallway trying to figure out which way 'downstairs' was.

It turned out to be rather easy to find since as soon as he had found stairs he heard laughter. DG definitely, Tip too. Which was not a comforting combination. He took a few steps down the hall and paused for a moment...

"No! I swear I have never seen a look like that on anyone's face, and then he just shrieked 'bees!' like a little girl..."

Ah, she was talking about Jeb. He could live with that.

He slid in somewhere between laughter and story but found himself stopping in the door. They were all sitting around a worn table, Tip was of course talking, she was always talking, her hands flying a mile a minute as she traced Jeb's path in the air for the others to see. DG was laughing so hard she was almost snorting and Az was in the corner grinning with her hand over her mouth as if she could hide it but her blush and her eyes gave her away.

But it was Glitch that captured him, it had to be Glitch because he was laughing. Brilliantly laughing over a cup of something and empty plates, his eyes full of joy and a dozen memories sprung to Cain's mind. Brushing fingers in DeMilo's truck, rhythm, that smile, numbers, those brown eyes, kissing with his arm in a sling, the balcony looking over Central City, arms around him, the musty scent of that jacket, hands slipping, picking absently at buttons and seams...

Then Glitch was looking at him, brown eyes grinning, absolutely pleased to see him,

"Hello stranger!"

Cain knew he couldn't keep the memories out of his eyes or the smile he returned, so he didn't try. He managed a 'hey' moments before his arms were full of an excited DG and Tip was yelling at him to come sit down.

But all he noticed was the way Glitch seemed to _brighten_ when he came near.

* * *

Glitch hurried down the hall. Mostly because he was excited and mostly because when he got excited Ambrose tended to use that time to have a panic attack, because if something was exciting Glitch it couldn't possibly be good for him. 

He slid into their bedroom and shut the door. It had taken him way too long to escape breakfast, partly because he didn't just didn't want to and partly because DG kept asking Cain questions and he had wanted to hear the answers. But Ambrose was up and hyperventilating so he had to excuse himself on the pretense that Ambrose probably had something terribly boring to do, and he'd noticed the hurt that passed over Cain when Glitch had to leave _because of Ambrose_. That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all.

"He hates me."

"Hate is a strong word."

Hands that were and weren't his own pulled a gold ribbon from their dresser and smoothed their hair back,

"You saw the way he looked every time I got brought up. That mapmaker noticed it too. You saw how she started asking questions."

"She was curious, we are rather curious, you know."

"I know. This isn't going to work Glitch. He isn't going to like me."

"We don't even know what isn't going to work so stop fussing, and he's going to like you just fine, I didn't like you when I first met you."

"Thank you, Glitch."

"That's not what I... You know, you are a very difficult person to warm up to and..."

"It didn't used to be that way. _I know_."

Ambrose pushed memories away for his own good and buttoned up his jacket walking briskly over to his desk. Now that he had the information, he didn't want to deal with it. It wasn't important, it wasn't...

"If you're not even going to try you might as well tell him that."

Ambrose fought the need to start arguing, to get mad. Glitch was mad and he had no right and every right to be. Ambrose sighed as he let himself down bodily into the desk chair. Slowly his hands came up and he hid his face in him. This was going to be a disaster. He knew it. The Ambrose before... The old Ambrose would have known exactly what to do. The old Ambrose knew all the tricks, he knew all the moves. He could have anyone he wanted and he had, whether it had been a whim for an evening or a whirlwind affair that lasted weeks. But now, now it had all gone to _crap_. He jumped whenever people touched him, he could barely keep himself talking for more than a few moments at a time, he was a mess in social situations... He was already planning an excuse to leave the gala early tomorrow night. He used to_own_ gala's.

"Ambrose at least talk to him."

He grumbled something under his breath.

"Ambrose..."

"And tell him what? What could I possibly tell that man?"

"I don't know! Anything! Tell him the truth! Make something up! Say hello..."

"Tell him what truth?"

He could feel Glitch grumbling and fidgeting, "Ambrose, do you like him? Or are you just doing this because I like him?"

That was an excellent question and if he gave the right answer they could be rid of the tin mess forever... But the right answer wouldn't necessarily be _true_.

Ambrose sighed as he folded his arms and plopped his head on the desk.

"He is attractive."

Glitch was curious, "Okay, is that all?"

"Well, his mannerism are attractive as well."

"Mannerisms?"

"I seem to like the notion of that ridiculous boy scout behavior. There is nothing wrong with that."

"Course not." There was a moment before Glitch spoke up again, "Ambrose, is he like the others... The others we've liked before?"

Ambrose looked pensively at a pile screws and bolts that had been left scattered on top of his papers. He flicked a screw, sending it spinning across blueprints and reports,

"No, Glitch. He isn't like them at all."

"Oh."

"He's much _better_."

The screw hit the floor with a 'click' and Ambrose listened to it roll for a few more inches before it stopped and he closed his eyes.

That was the issue wasn't it? Cain was a good man and Ambrose hadn't any experience with those. The entire notion of not having anything to compare this to terrified him, worse than touching. If he didn't have any... data to base this off of... then he could very easily make a mistake but he didn't want to do that. How many chances did one get really? He'd already messed up once. He had to... He needed... They needed...

"We need a plan 'Brose."

"I know."

"You need to talk to him."

"I know. Say hello, make something up, tell him the truth..."

Ambrose blinked as he pushed himself up, tell Cain the...?

He stood, quickly shuffling around his papers until he found something that looked official, "Come on."

He felt Glitch perk up, "Where are we going?"

"We are going to find an opportune moment."

"Sounds exciting."

* * *

It had taken well into the afternoon to just find the man. Of course he'd been sidetracked by DG and then that chatty mapmaker... What was it? Tippterius? Who engaged him in a rather thinly veiled discussion that was and was not about Cain, until Cain's son had dragged her off with an almost apologetic look on his face. Ambrose had smiled a bit. He was going to have to watch out for them. They were both terribly protective of the tin man, just in different ways. 

Ambrose frowned at the closed door. He knew that the Queen was speaking to Cain. She had called for him exactly seven minutes ago. But logically if Ambrose had only come down the hall four minutes ago, he couldn't possibly know that Cain was in the room. It would be a logical mistake. He could feel Glitch bouncing in the back of their mind. He hadn't exactly told his other half what he was doing, he was afraid if he explained it, he'd lose his nerve.

So he knocked and stuck his head in the door, looking suitably surprised when the Queen looked up and Cain turned.

"Oh, my apologies, your majesty. I did not know you were in conference."

Ozma just waved her hand and smiled thinly, "I think we may welcome an interruption, is anything wrong?"

Ah, so Cain wasn't giving into his Queen's wishes? Ambrose fought to not grin but it did seem right to, with the utter wave of discomfort that was coming from the tin man as he stepped into the room,

"Nothing is wrong, your majesty, I just needed to borrow the blueprints of the Tower back for a few hours. Some changes had to be made to the auxiliary generators and I need to see if any alterations have to be made overall."

"Oh! Of course, I have them in my study, one moment please?"

He bowed as Cain nodded while the Queen swept out of the room and then it was just him and Cain.

Cain who stood staring at the door to the Queen's study with his arms crossed not looking at Ambrose at all.

Oh Gods. Ambrose fought not to simply bolt from the room as he tried to control his breathing. Gingerly his eyes skirted across boots and gray trousers, stopping for a moment as his mind reminded him of sleeves and collars and... Cain was acting like he wasn't even there. This was stupid.

Ambrose lifted his head and took a step forward so that he stood next to the tin man, eyes on the study door with Glitch practically humming and then finally he spoke.

"I believe I owe you an apology."

He knew he heard Glitch gasp in the back of their mind but he ignored it.

There was a movement besides him but Ambrose didn't chance a look at Cain, not yet.

"An apology?"

His voice was gruff and Ambrose was pleased that he didn't flinch when the other had spoke.

"Yes, for that afternoon, in the library."

A sharp intake of breath came from the tin man and Ambrose fought to continue,

"I-I did a great many things that I regret those first few months but..."

He looked up to meet blue eyes with the anger in them fading being replaced by something else... and suddenly Ambrose found that speaking wasn't so hard,

"But I believe those words in the library are what I regret the most."

There was a moment of silence between them that could have been a moment or it could have been an hour as just a hint of softness touched the edges of blue eyes and Ambrose swallowed.

"Is this what you wanted, Ambrose?"

His head snapped up as Cain turned quickly away and he smiled politely at the Queen when she entered with what he was looking for but not what he _wanted_.

"That is exactly it, your majesty, thank you."

He bowed politely as he took the offered papers. A quick nod and one last look at blue eyes before he turned and made his way back out into the hall.

Where Glitch pounced him almost immediately.

"Ambrose! I can't believe you did that! Did you see how he looked at you!? That was good!"

Ambrose blinked as he stood in the hall, blueprints clutched to his chest.

"I can't quite believe it either..." Ambrose closed his eyes, trying to not shake from the sheer adrenaline of the moment, "I think I may throw up."

"Oh! Let's not do that. Come on, back to the lab."


	5. It's Easy to Say but Harder to Feel

**Title:** Binary Means Two

**Rating**: Still PG, eventually NC-17 hopefully.

**Parings:** Cain/Glitch/Ambrose, you know it's awesome when there's two slashes in there. Also, Jeb/OC

**Summary:** A annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities.

**Obligatory Author Drivel:** OMG! I did it! I'm going to take a nap now. When I wake up I'll work on the rest of the DRABBLES! I know it's been forever, sorries and cupcakes for all. School kicked me in the rear faculties but the brunt of horrible coursework is over and done with. This essentially could be the last chapter buuuut... I did say it was going to be NC-17 and it shall be, so keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks, y'know, if ya wanna. But here, questions are answered, cream puffs are had, and the authoress is on cloud nine.

Kick me if you spot a grammarz errorz! My beta is in Portland doing I have no idea what.

**Part Five: It's Easy to Say but Harder to Feel**

Cain wasn't quite sure how long he'd been standing in the bathroom, half dressed for the gala and thinking. He'd been thinking all day, and most of yesterday. He only vaguely remembered that he'd come to an agreement with the Queen and he didn't remember dinner at all, only that Glitch or Ambrose hadn't been there. The man had also skipped breakfast, and he'd listened to DG's scowling while he pushed eggs around on his plate. After that he had wandered, coming to the room where he could hear them tutting and humming and having conversations with themselves, but he'd walked by, not quite having the nerve to knock or even stay and listen. Jeb had been concerned, but Cain had waved him off, he needed to figure this out.

He had seen the humanity in Ambrose that he feared wasn't there.

Ambrose hadn't just apologized, he meant it, and that hadn't been factored into any of the tin mans plans. He'd been thinking about finding a way _around_ Ambrose to get at Glitch... But now, maybe that wasn't necessary. Maybe that wasn't what he had to do at all. Glitch had spoke highly of his 'other half' but there had been a touch of sadness in his eyes that Cain wasn't so sure he should be resenting anymore. There had been a moment at breakfast that stuck in his mind, Cain had asked Glitch how he'd been doing and the man had just smiled over his tea and said,

"We're both still a little glitchy."

The entire conversation had been 'us', 'we're', 'our'. They weren't separable, they never had been... Cain frowned, just a little, as his mind wrapped around what that meant, you couldn't choose...

Cain shook his head as he shrugged into a grey vest. The entire situation with Ambrose _and_ Glitch was still predominately complicated and it left Cain with a feeling that he hadn't been asking himself the right questions. He liked Glitch, he loved Glitch... And didn't that mean...? He frowned at the mirror, at himself, washed and mostly dressed in finery that wasn't his.

The noises in the palace had changed. His group had been one of many that had arrived at the palace in the last few days and the halls had been full of laughter and hushed voices. Fragrant smells from the kitchen rode on waves of music that was just beginning to find its tone. Cain cursed as six 'o' clock came with an array of annoying chiming noises from the confection that sat on the mantle of his guest room.

Tall black riding boots were hurried on, fitting perfectly to a dark pair of breeches, followed by a charcoal grey jacket that had grey fur edging the collar and sleeves. He'd figured out, after some staring, that he was supposed to be a wolf or something of the sort. DG had explained at breakfast that the costumes were just supposed to be 'abstract' representations of animals. Cain had only halfway paid attention, he'd come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to have to dress all out like an idiot and he'd been satisfied with that. What he wasn't satisfied with was the little silver pot of what he assumed was eye shade or something that had come with the suit and now sat not missed, but not forgotten either in the bottom of a bathroom drawer.

Quickly he opened the hall door, looking left and right, smiling politely at a slender girl dressed in white and trailing a mass of glimmering feathers on her way towards the stairs. All he had to do was make it down to the ballroom before...

"Where do you think you're going?"

Damn.

He turned and couldn't help but smiling. Not at the costumes, but at the face that Jeb was making, like he was going to an execution or something. An execution in dark green. It was a rather sharp suit, but it wasn't until one got to the vest that you could see the pattern of scales. His dark eyes were narrowed, lined in black and dusted with green. So... lizard? Maybe Cain had lucked out costume wise.

Tip was a tiger in an orange off the shoulder gown edged with white fur and black stripes cutting down the side of the skirt. It was a bit funny, seeing as to how small she was. He supposed she was more of a tiger cub. A tiger cub that he probably shouldn't be making fun of because there was fire in her rather dramatically painted eyes.

"Well?"

"To the ballroom?"

"Wrong answer, turn around."

* * *

"Ambrose!"

"Glitch, how many times have I said no?"

"Seventeen, why can't we wear the wings?"

Ambrose closed his eyes which were currently rimmed in brown and dusted with a reddish hue.

"Because they are _ridiculous _and that should be a good enough answer for you."

He was checking everything in his workshop for the fourth time, mostly because every time he made it to the hall his mind would make up some reason to not join the glittering throng on their way down to the ballroom. Last time he'd seen a peacock and what he could only assume was some sort of hedgehog or other garden rodent, tittering to each other, and he'd lost his nerve.

Glitch was so far not helping at all. Ambrose opened his eyes as he turned the lights off in his workshop, again, and went back out into the bedroom where Glitch sighed when he caught sight of the now contentious mass of brown feathers that sat on their bed.

"Glitch they are silly and..."

He suppose he'd lucked out on his costume. It didn't look too idiotic. Ambrose checked himself in the mirror, also for the fourth time, he was a robin. The brown jacket was finely tailored and cut to his frame very well, he'd have to give them that, and the red vest was rather... fetching. He didn't know about the pants, he'd never had a liking for breeches but he supposed they looked alright with the tall brown boots...

"Ambrose, you're wasting time."

Ambrose rolled his eyes, "Fine. We'll go down."

"Wings?"

"No, Glitch. No wings."

"But they're fun!"

Ambrose rubbed the bridge of his nose, careful to not smudge the careful lines of brown. He was hoping he wouldn't have to resort to bribery but he needed Glitch to be on his side tonight.

"Glitch, if we wore those they would just get in the way of our dancing."

The grumbling protest in the back of his mind vanished instantly with one small excited gasp.

"Do you mean it? You'll dance?"

"We will, you promised DG at breakfast remember?"

"I do! I just didn't think you'd..."

"Well if we leave those wings behind I'd be glad to dance all night."

"Mm'kay! No wings!"

Ambrose smiled wanly as he made his way over to the door again and paused as soon as his fingers touched the chill of the doorknob. He'd had a discussion with Glitch, and they decided, well Glitch had decided, that tonight they were going to have a good time. Even if Ambrose panicked after an hour and they had to sneak out. Glitch just wanted him to _try_. He could still try, couldn't he? Ambrose closed his eyes, it was just dinner and dancing. He'd missed dinner last night and avoided breakfast much to Glitch's protesting. He'd gone down later, once he'd made sure that everyone else was off doing gala things. It was just... he hadn't wanted to run into Cain again. The apology had been a triumph but... Well... He just was unsure as to what do to now. Where to continue or what step came next. It was complicated.

"Ambrose?"

"I know Glitch, I'm wasting time again."

"The Queen will worry if we're late..."

Ambrose nodded, "and then DG will be at our heels like a mobat."

Glitch giggled silently as he turned the knob and stepped out into the, thankfully empty, hall. He paused for one moment more after he shut the door before he turned and quickly made his way down the hall and to the stairs. It was across the courtyard, into the ballroom and he was done. That didn't seem too hard. Slowly Ambrose took a deep breath before he tucked his left arm behind his back and made his way forward, he may be out of practice but he knew this dance.

* * *

Cain smiled politely, if a bit forced, as a woman dressed as a lamb, who may or may not be the wife of someone much more important than he was, tittered loudly at something she, herself, had just said. He was cornered, by four women he didn't know after he'd answered one question about his travels. He was going to kill Tip. Later though, as the tin man raised his head and caught sight of the flash of orange and green. He'd kill her later because she'd just gotten Jeb to go out on the dance floor and that was _priceless_. Tip was leading as Jeb looked up and down, vaguely concerned, but he was getting the hang of it and Cain found that he was more than a little proud.

He stared down into the glass of mulled wine he held, swirling it slowly as the women around him burst into laughter at something he missed.

"...lock up your daughters..."

"And sons!"

More laugher as Cain barely tuned into the conversation as all four women turned quickly back from whomever they were looking at and started on again. Cain focused, four women, the lamb, last name Rounds, may be the wife of one of the big wigs at the palace. Keane, dressed like a moth, engaged to someone in the palace stables. Small girl, first name might be Lori, goldfinch, single, very shy, and the last one... Cain swallowed as Miss. Willet grinned at him. Miss. Willet, unfortunately single, who was dressed in brown with the soft white spots of a fawn running down the bodice of her dress. Cain had known in a second that it had been the wrong costume for her. This woman was a predator and she kept grinning at him...

"What do you think Mr. Cain?"

"I don't think I'm partial one way or the other," he answered the question he hadn't heard. He'd been vague the entire evening, unfortunately for him vague seemed to be in fashion, since everywhere he turned there was some female accosting him about his travels or his ideas or his status...

Again he scanned the crowd for a familiar face, someone he could slide off to on the pretense of something or another. He flicked his eyes towards the royal dais again, the Queen was nodding at something Ahamo was saying, she looked rather amused, dressed in something that mimicked fish scales and glimmered every time she moved. Ahamo was in white fur chuckling as the Queen blushed. The princesses were nowhere to be seen. Cain had caught sight of DG in a flurry of white and rainbow when he had first come in, she was dressed like a butterfly and Az apparently was keeping her fluttering everywhere as the older princess tried to sneak out of the gala at every opportunity. There was no sign of Ambrose or Glitch that he'd seen yet, and only a flicker of a person he thought was Raw, but he'd seen Kalm running around so the viewer had to be there somewhere.

Cain closed his eyes for a moment as the women around him burst into laughter again and Miss. Willet sidled a bit closer to him than propriety should have warranted. He knew it would be incredibly inappropriate to just tell her to 'go to the Gale'. Maybe he should have put his wedding ring on. He hadn't worn it for a few months or so and now he thought of it rather pleasantly sitting in the drawer of his end table and wondered if _it_ could have saved him.

Then there was a small cough to the side of him and he looked up when all the women fell silent.

Never in all his life was he glad to see Azkadellia. Silver dress, bouncy wings, and all.

He grinned, genuinely, as she wove her fingers together, looking at him shyly, "Mr. Cain, may I have a word with you?"

"Certainly, princess."

He managed to look apologetic to the other ladies as he politely offered his arm to the princess and let himself be led away to the buffet table.

"You looked like you were going to throttle that woman in the brown."

"It was close," Cain said keeping his expression schooled so that anyone that saw them would think they were talking about the weather.

"I think that would have been the highlight of the evening."

"So I take it you've been having a grand time as well?"

There was mischief in brown eyes lined in black and dusted with silver as the princess picked up a small plate filled with tarts from the table and they continued walking.

"Everyone is scared of me."

Cain frowned, despite himself. From what he'd seen of Az he didn't think that there was anything very scary about her. She was shy and she hid behind DG a lot. He'd caught her humming once or twice and she was always very quite at meals. That boiling fire that had been in her eyes when the Witch possessed her was gone, but, then again, not many people could compare like he could.

"They still think of the Sorceress?"

Az nodded as they wound their way through the crowd and up a pair of stairs to a balcony that over looked the dance floor. It looked like it was a couples hideaway but there wasn't anyone up there now. Just small round tables and off in the corner were two tables mashed together full of empty glasses, plates covered with treats, and DG.

The younger girl clapped making the fabric of her sleeves ripple,

"You saved Cain! Ten points, Az."

Az frowned as she left the tarts in front of her sister and sat down.

"Only ten?"

DG frowned, "Okay, since it's Cain, fifteen points, and five extra for remembering the tarts."

Az grinned brightly as Cain took a seat next to DG who was busy undoing her hair, now with a tart in her mouth, pulling butterfly shaped brooches out of twisted locks and tossing them unceremoniously on the table.

"I'm worth fifteen points?"

DG grinned as she shook her hair out and pulled the pastry from her mouth, "Yes, we've come up with a point system you see. Every time Az participates in the gala she earns points and when she reaches five hundred we can slip out for the night."

Cain chuckled as he finished his wine, leaving the glass on the table with the others.

"And how many points until freedom?"

Az smiled slightly but turned it into a serious look as she answered very matter-of-factly, "Three hundred and ten."

Cain leaned back, "Oh, quite a ways to go then."

Az just sighed and took a drink of something red in a tall glass and DG craned over the railing to peer into the crowd below.

"Hmm, I don't see any other disasters waiting to happen. That lady from Quim still won't leave Raw alone but I can't tell if he likes the attention or not."

"Didn't they dance?"

"He did with the one that looks like a guppy, this is the sister."

"Ah."

Cain frowned and followed her line of sight. It was a brilliant spot, you could see the entire ballroom from this vantage. Sure enough, just over in the corner was Raw, finely combed in a copper colored vest speaking with a blushing blond woman in a blue feather edged gown.

"He looks fine to me." Cain proclaimed before turning back to the table as DG made another tart disappear, "Do you have half the buffet up here?"

DG grinned, "Az earns two points every time she makes a food run."

Cain did a quick mental count, "So, that's only one hundred and fifty-five more runs."

Az grinned brilliantly as Cain ate some small pastry full of sweet cream, just reveling in the lack of hollow laughter and peace for a moment. But DG was grinning at him, looking rather silly, until Cain sighed,

"What?"

At least the girl had the decency to look innocent, "Nothing. I just owe Tip a platinum."

Cain frowned, all right, he'd bite, "Why do you owe Tip a platinum? I think Jeb already owes her half his pay from the expedition..."

DG grinned her eyes surrounded by flittering colors of the rainbow, "I though I was going to have to come down and tell you to stop being such a baby about the eye shadow."

Cain chuckled, "I can be civil about things. Once in awhile. Though I'm skipping the next gala."

"That's not fair... Wait! Are you going to be here for the next gala?"

Blue eyes widened as DG practically looked like she would leap upon him if he stayed silent as Az perked up, listening.

"Your mother and I reached an agreement."

"You're_not_ the Commissioner..."

"I am not the Commissioner." Cain pondered a plate of chocolate cake, "Your current Head of Palace Security is going to become Commissioner and I get his job."

Half the ballroom must have heard DG squeal.

"You're gonna stay!?"

Cain heard Az laugh as DG launched herself at him anyway, nearly tipping his chair as she caught him in a hug that he knew how to return.

"But you know what that means..."

DG sat up quickly, still leaning on him, only a trace of worry on her features, "What does that mean?"

"It means I am not going to put up with any of your trouble."

"I don't make trouble! Az, tell him I don't make trouble."

Azkadellia leaned forward, her elbows on the table, "I don't know. The geese were kind of troublesome."

Cain made a point to look at DG like he'd known all along, "Geese?"

"I forgot I left the door open! It was a total mistake!" DG waved her hand dismissively as she got up and leaned on the railing, peering over the balcony,

"Hey! Kalm at two 'o' clock!"

Cain looked up as the young viewer in a black vest with plaited hair made his way up the stairs and towards their table, pausing to get hugged by DG and smiling at Az,

"Glitch said you two had all the cream puffs."

DG frowned, "We can't have all of them..."

Kalm frowned as he looked at the table, "Looks like all of them... Hello Mr. Cain."

"Hey kid, having fun?"

Kalm nodded as he helped himself to said cream puffs and sat down next to Az.

"Kalm?" DG called, "Where'd you leave Glitch? I can't find him."

The viewer frowned, "I ran into him by the tables, but it's Ambrose now."

DG grumbled, "That's why I can't find him..."

"Hm?" Cain asked, standing to look over as well.

"It's just well... Glitch is pretty easy to find. He's usually off dancing... But Ambrose kinda melts into the crowd. Az spotted him once. I can't understand it, its not like their appearance changes..."

Cain scanned the crowd, looking for any familiar glimmer, "There he is."

DG blinked, "What? Where?"

Cain gestured to the familiar shape in red and brown, "There, just to the right of the dais. He's about to slip out the balcony doors."

DG just shook her head, "Dang, Cain, you're good at this game."

"Tin man."

"Right, so who gets him? Az you went and found him last time, I got him the time before that..."

The trio looked up as Cain muttered a 'pardon' and descended the stairs pretending to not see the flurry of looks that passed between the sisters.

* * *

Ambrose watched his breath curl in front of him as he stood out in the cold, leaning on the railing, fingers absently tapping against a half full champagne glass. He'd found that if he popped out onto the balcony before he almost panicked the cold was usually enough of a shock to calm him down, now it was just a brilliant excuse to get away from the flurry of the crowd. Glitch was currently humming a waltz and Ambrose smiled. They were a little tipsy. Just a little. Ambrose had said 'two glasses of wine', of course he hadn't clarified that he had meant two _period_. Not _each_. But Glitch was fabulous at getting around any rules he put down. Two glasses became three and a half, _one_ honey cake turned into three... No, no, two because the third one hadn't left the staging area yet, so it didn't count. Right. It was logical if you thought about it...

Logical. Ambrose gazed across the garden. The frozen fountains and chimes glittered in the soft light from the ballroom. It wasn't a terrible night. In fact, he was almost enjoying himself. Glitch had gotten to dance and Ambrose had shared a few words with people he had thought were long gone after the witches reign. It could have gone worse, they had gotten cornered by a rather drunk former advisor but Ambrose had just shoved Glitch to the forefront of themselves and let him deal with it. It had worked so well that they had ended up flip flopping the entire evening, making friends laugh and giving strangers the idea that they were more than a little insane. Which was, as Ambrose saw it, a solution, not a problem. He had a lot to gain if it got around to all the single ladies that he was crazy.

In fact, the last he'd seen of Cain the man had been smiling thinly at one of those horrible gold digging women.

Glitch had wanted to go save him. Ambrose thought the tin man was doing quite well on his own, Glitch had been about to protest but they unfortunately garnered the attention of a grey eyed otter woman at that moment and that had delayed any argument right there. Besides he hadn't been nearly drunk enough at that point to even considering approaching the man. That would take... a _bit_ more wine. It also hadn't helped that the second Glitch had caught sight of Cain in his suit, a cry of 'Sex on legs!' had echoed through their shared mind, giving Ambrose a blush that he had to quickly explain away to the Queen as nerves.

The tin man looked, as Glitch had phrased it, 'delicious'. Ambrose had spent the next few minutes trying to explain to his other half that delicious was a word one used to describe food, not people. But Glitch hadn't been really listening, even Ambrose had only been halfway paying attention to his own words.

Wyatt Cain looked _good_. In that imposingly cut suit of grey and fur. The maids or someone must have gotten ahold of him, because there were soft grey shadows around his eyes. It was like catching a glimpse of pure blue through a deep mist. Ambrose sighed and stared at the golden liquid in front of him. He supposed it was a good sign that he was thinking about someone in terms of attraction. Maybe that was the first step, or a step... Steps, steps meant a journey, a journey to or from... Ambrose shook his head, he was rambling worse than Glitch. That thought elicited a vague grumble from his other half which Ambrose shushed. It wasn't like he was making it up. Glitch rambled... It was true. It was rubbing off on him... Or Glitch had gotten it from him. The line between themselves that Ambrose had been sure was miles wide had been slowly blurring over the weeks and months. He could almost imagine a time where he wouldn't be Ambrose_and_ Glitch. It was a strange thought, to think that maybe they weren't different, that maybe Glitch had been Ambrose all along and now... Ambrose shook his head. No, he wouldn't think about this tonight. People wrote books about the psychological ramifications of...

Ambrose blinked as he heard the balcony door click open. Who was? Ambrose froze as Cain poked his head out, looking around a bit before settling his gaze on him with a nod. Ambrose nodded back, or Glitch did. Ambrose was still a bit frozen, dozens of thoughts came to mind, got stuck in the door and tumbled all over each other. He'd been expecting Az or DG, they had pulled him back into the party a few times already. But this was...

_Don't panic. It's just Cain. You'll be fine._

Ambrose took a deep breath and downed the rest of the champagne in his glass as the door shut behind Cain and the tin man took a few experimental steps forward.

"Can I help you, Mr. Cain?"

A slight rolling shrug, most people wouldn't have noticed it under the fur,

"I was looking for you."

Ambrose narrowed his eyes, "You were looking for me? Or for Glitch?"

A moment of pondering and Ambrose realized that the tin man was actually thinking instead of making something up.

"I was looking for _you_."

"Ah."

Ambrose turned back to look over the gardens again, his fingers playing a sharp staccato on the champagne glass, mostly to hide his shock, and the other roil of emotions that were swimming around him like fish while Glitch just smiled and made no attempt to push forward despite the gentle not-quite-desperate-yet prodding that Ambrose was giving him.

He made a point to not look up as Cain came up to the railing and leaned on it. He was only a few feet away. Ambrose stilled his hips, his legs that wanted to shift away. Cain was close but not close, the man seemed to be taking care to not crowd him, so Ambrose forced himself to not shy away.

"You ran out so fast yesterday, I didn't get a chance to say anything."

Ambrose blinked as Cain spoke. Cain had wanted to... What would he...? Ambrose focused on keeping the jumble in his mind under control. This wasn't working. He hadn't been expecting... Well, he had assumed that he would have to talk to the man eventually...

"Ambrose?"

"I'm listening," He'd snapped and nearly winced at his own tone. _Damn,_"Sorry... please go on."

* * *

Cain swallowed as the other man snapped. Maybe he shouldn't have come out here. He was trying to find the right answers to the right questions but he didn't know quite how to say that and make sense. He had to say something. But he hardly knew why he had come out so quickly. He'd been looking for Glitch or Ambrose all night and the second he'd spotted him he'd just...

He watched Ambrose's mouth tighten back into that line and he felt the same pang of annoyance he always felt when talking to the other man. Ambrose just had a way of making him feel like he wasn't important at all. A way of making Cain say the stupidest thing out of all of them floating around in his mind... Cain kept himself from snapping back and forced himself to think, not just feel. It was a matter of understanding them. Glitch was all mouth, it was easy to tell what Glitch was thinking by what his mouth was doing. A twist of his lips could easily convey fear, happiness, lust... But not Ambrose... Ambrose was...

Cain looked up and felt his heart tighten in his chest, anything Ambrose wasn't telling you was hidden in his eyes. That's what was different yesterday. Ambrose had apologized and he'd looked him in the eye, those brown eyes which had been so full of guilt and fear. Cain looked at Ambrose now, the man trying so hard to not look back at him, to keep his body language stiff and in check. He could only see a flicker of brown under hooded eyelids but there was fear there still, nervousness, and a small trace of something else...

It was like looking into the window of a tin suit.

"I would have at least like the chance to apologize myself."

Shock and surprise as brown eyes met his suddenly before flitting back down to the empty glass.

"You've nothing to..."

"Hear me out," Cain interrupted, for a second he was afraid the man would bolt or shove Glitch out there and the moment would be lost.

But Ambrose just nodded, still staring down into his glass and Cain fought to continue, to force his words to have purpose.

"You weren't the only one at fault..." He continued as Ambrose scoffed quietly, "Do you know why I left?"

"You had work."

Cain closed his eyes and shook his head,

"No, that's what grown men call running away. It wasn't that."

Ambrose's mouth open slightly as if he was going to say something but then thought better of it and closed it. Cain pushed through the pause,

"I got angry at you, when I shouldn't have been. Instead of trying... I... I took the easy way out and..."

Ambrose looked up suddenly, his eyes confused and hesitant.

"And?"

Cain didn't ignore the small flutter of hope that passed over Ambrose's features.

"And I wish I hadn't."

* * *

Ambrose knew he was standing there silent, blinking like a owl. His fingers slipped off the champagne glass with a _clink. _

"You mean..."

He lost whatever he was going to say in a tumult of emotions which he was trying to frantically push aside with logic. The tin man had run off, of course, that was why Ambrose had said those horrid words in the library. He'd been scared, he wanted Cain to be mad at him. It had been a perfect plan. At the time. Then he wished he hadn't said anything. Now it was... It seemed almost too much to ask for. Ambrose was sorry, Cain was sorry and now... What did they do now?

Ambrose swallowed. What did they? Logically it was all kiss and make up now, wasn't it?

But, oh, no no no... He wasn't _good _at that anymore. Or ready. Was he ready? Glitch? Glitch! Ambrose wanted to strangle the silence in the back of his mind. Why wasn't his other half answering!? Of all the times he just wanted to let Glitch _deal with it_... Instead he was being... stubborn...

It was all spinning out of control and Glitch wasn't _coming_. Ambrose shut his eyes tightly, he couldn't run, Cain was between him and the door and if he went... He really didn't want to... He just didn't want to embarrass himself and he _knew he was going to_... But he didn't know what to do. All the words and feelings were too much...

"Ambrose."

Cain's voice was stern and it demanded attention, so he automatically opened his eyes. Cain wasn't upset or annoyed... He was concerned. Ambrose found himself blinking again as the panic ebbed out of him leaving him feeling a bit silly.

"Do you want to sit down?"

Several snappish comments ran through his mind as he tried to push himself back behind his usual aloofness... But they were all overridden by the fact that, yes, he would very much like to sit down. So it was all he could do to nod and let Cain lead him towards a marble bench that was sitting pretty by the doors back into the palace.

He sat and after a moment Cain took a seat next to him. Still not terribly close, but not terribly far away either. No matter how Ambrose fussed or closed his eyes he couldn't pretend he was by himself. But he was in the middle of deciding if that was a _problem_. Company made him nervous and he hated to be nervous in front of company. But this wasn't just any company, this was Cain and... He swallowed again, trying to get rid of the dryness in his mouth and...

A bubble of thought rose and burst.

What was the worst that could happen? He fainted? They... touched? Nothing too terrible could happen if Cain was there...

Slowly his gaze trailed up grey fur and blinked at smoky blue eyes that were still a touch concerned.

"Better?"

Ambrose nodded again, still barely trusting his voice to do anything he wanted it to. Cain smiled, slowly, still a bit guarded and Ambrose didn't blame him at all.

"Do you get this bad around everyone or is it just me?"

A wiry smile crept through the panic and the nerves, and Ambrose made a sort of dry noise that could have been a laugh,

"Pretty much everyone. Usually I just push Glitch out, but he's being... He's being..."

"He's being Glitch?"

"Yeah," Ambrose forced his breathing to even as his mind stopped flip flopping all over itself, "I-I'm sorry. I'm not any good with people anymore."

The tin man's voice was warm and above all sincere, "You don't have to apologize. Believe me, I know the feeling."

Ambrose blinked, he had been about to say something, but a small epiphany had stopped him. Of course Cain knew. Cain probably knew better than anyone. Eight years in a tin suit and ten years in a glass jar... What was the difference? In the end they'd both come out... the same.

Slowly Ambrose leaned back against the cool stone, "You do know don't you?"

"Yeah."

For a moment it was just the two of them, in their silly finery, leaning back against the palace watching the stars glimmer and their breath steam in front of them. They were human and they'd been broken and there were things they couldn't control but now it was time to stop all the nonsense they _could_ control.

As Ambrose relaxed he felt his hand brush against Cain's. It sent the usual panicked warning up his spine along with another much more pleasant shiver. He looked down and watched Cain slowly turn his hand so that his palm faced up, beckoning and Ambrose forced through his walls and took it, closing his eyes as warm fingers curled around his.

"Cain?"

"Hm?"

"What do we do now?"

It wasn't supposed to be a funny question, and Ambrose blinked as a grin suddenly broke out across Cain's face like the suns coming out after a rainstorm.

"That's a really _good_ question. I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Ambrose stayed quiet as he thought it out, tracing the shape and form that made Wyatt Cain. A shape and form that, if he played his cards right, might end up belonging to _him_.

"I think... I think that maybe if I were braver I'd kiss you."

"You're not that brave?"

Cain's voice bordered on teasing and Ambrose smiled a bit as he shook his head, "Not anymore."

"If you used to be, I think you could be again."

"Really?"

"It's tricky, to take the man you used to be along with the man you became and try to figure out who you're _supposed_ to be."

Ambrose found himself grinning, "You've been thinking tin man..."

"You're not the only one who does it."

They had leaned closer and when Ambrose looked up from smiling he was the closest he'd been to another person in two annuals.

"Is it worth it? Reconciling the two?"

He was rewarded with another smile and a, "That's another really good question."

Ambrose felt he could ask questions all day if he got that smile.

But he didn't get an answer, instead he felt the fingertips of Cain's other hand brush his cheek and then very gently, he was kissed.

It was chaste but intimate. Unusual and familiar all at the same time. It was only halfway through that he remembered how to kiss back properly and he felt a pleased joy in the back of his shared mind as he _finally_ felt Glitch again. His other half grinning and nodding and telling him that he was doing just fine without him for once.

Normally he would have started in on his other half, chiding him for his abandonment, but... he was busy, and it would serve Glitch right if Ambrose went the rest of the night without needing him at all.

They didn't move much when the kiss broke. Still staying close, catching their breath. Finally Cain spoke with a sigh,

"We should probably get back to the gala."

Ambrose growled and frowned, "I think I've had enough of the gala."

Blue eyes met brown with a matching grin.

"Wanna skip out?"

"I'll show you my lab."

"I bet you say that to everyone."

"Just you."

They stood, still holding hands and made their way back into the warmth of the palace, winding around couples, and sneaking along walls.

If anyone saw them, they didn't say a thing.


	6. Plurality

**Title:** Binary Means Two

**Rating:** PG to R depending on your imagination,

**Parings:** Cain/Glitch/Ambrose, you know it's awesome when there's two slashes in there. Also, Jeb/OC

**Summary:** A annual and half after the defeat of The Witch, Glitch and Ambrose are two halves of the same person with very different priorities.

**Obligatory Author Drivel:** Dooooone. Stick a fork in me. I will always back up my files on CD and I will not quit my job the week that my video card dies and be forced to use a laptop that may or may not turn on. Here's the last part, didn't quite make it to the smutty smut, but after reading the whole thing through I don't think it really needed it. I am on to bigger and better things. Un'betaed, (couldn't find one!) poke me if you find any glaring errors. :)

* * *

**Part Six: Plurality**

Ambrose stopped outside his door and fumbled for his keys while Cain kept looking up and down the hall. Gods, he was nervous. It was really more excited than nervous but... Gods they were a close feeling. Why did they feel so alike? Excited made him just as nauseous as nervous and... ugh, why in the Gale were his keys all jumbled up like that? He hissed as Glitch shrugged in the back of his mind and they both stared down at the ball of metal that had been a key chain full of rather neatly lined up keys and was now a horrible mess of copper and...

"Which one is it?"

Ambrose sighed as Cain came up to him, "The second smallest, they used to be in order..."

It took the tin man a laughably short time to locate the correct key and unlock the door. Ambrose rolled his eyes and was thankful that Cain didn't say a word even though he caught the small smile on the man's lips when he took his keys back and fiddled with them in his hand. There had to be better mean of security that didn't involve so many damnable keys. He'd invent one just so that never happened to him again. Or well, he could always make Cain open all the doors from now on. For some reason that seemed a much better solution and Glitch nodded in agreement. He was still a bit tipsy both from the champagne and the kiss, so he blamed that for the rather silly smile that crossed his features as Cain looked around with his hands in his pockets.

He was just so terribly attractive at times. Ambrose wondered briefly if this was what Cain's wife, Cain's _Adora,_ would see whenever she looked at him. This sort of, man at peace. Just Wyatt Cain, not the tin man or the guardian or that vengeful...

_You're rambling. _

Right. Ambrose composed himself as he stared at his workshop door that held all his other other locks and then at the bundle of keys in his hand. It was both he and Glitch that smiled at Cain and held the keys up.

They were confusing the hell out of him and Cain knew that they were loving it. Ambrose had gotten a lot braver after the kiss. If that smirk he had when he handed the keys back over were any indication. It wasn't to say that Cain didn't think it was absolutely fabulous. He was just starting to think that maybe he was in over his head. He could handle Glitch and he was pretty sure that he could handle Ambrose with the same efficiency but he hadn't considered what would happen if he had to handle them s_imultaneously_.

Of course that thought was a lot more appealing than not getting to spend time with them at all. He opened lock after lock on the workshop door, more listening to the amusement in Ambrose's voice than the actual instructions on how to get the massive door open.

"...really think it's a bit of overkill. My workshop in the tower didn't have any and the one in the old palace at Finaqua only had one which... well made it a bit easy to get into..."

Cain turned the last lock as Ambrose frowned to himself and Cain jangled the keys in front of his face to get the advisor to snap out of it.

"That's in the past, now let's see this mad lair."

"Wyatt Cain!" It was definitely a Glitch moment when the advisor snatched his keys back, "It is not a _lair_. Nor am I mad. Well, alright I'm a bit mad but that's to be expected..."

Cain grinned as he let Ambrose swish past him and flick about half a dozen switches to turn all the lights on.

"I mean, lairs don't have such wide windows, nor are they on the third floor of anything. A lair must be dark, dank, and preferably in a basement."

"You've done your homework."

"Well, it isn't as if I've written a dissertation on it..." Ambrose blinked and turned back quickly enough that the tails on his coat swung out, "you said that just so I'd stop frowning, didn't you?"

Cain felt a small smile creep up the side of his mouth, "you're very smart. I can see why they made you advisor."

Ambrose gave him a strange look, one that Cain didn't think would be possible on anyone else not having had their brain split in two. His mouth smiled, slightly, a bit of a twist, but his eyes remained wary and a bit perplexed. Then all of a sudden both expressions met in the middle and he blushed, quickly turning away, going to a workbench and shuffling through the objects there.

Cain took a deep breath and followed, it was going to be a strange dance but he was more than willing to let the other lead.

He took a long look around the 'lab'. It was a large room, nearly the size of the rest of the whole eastern wing, but it looked like most of it was being used for storage at the time. Bits of defunct machinery dominated the room, strange shapes covered in sheets and wrapped in burlap and hay. Boxes were here and there, looking as if they'd been rooted through but not quite unpacked and the long workbenches that ran under the eastern facing windows were cluttered with bits and bobs of all shapes and sizes.

Cain whistled as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I have to say I'm impressed."

Ambrose scoffed a bit as he turned, leaning against the workbench, "it's just an awful lot of junk now. Most of it should be destroyed... I just... haven't brought myself to do it yet."

"You'll get around to it, when you need to."

Glitch now, eyebrows raised,

"Cain, where in the long trek across the O.Z. did you pick up optimism? Was it on sale? I should pick up a whole crate of it."

Cain chuckled as he took a step towards the other man, "I think they were handing it out after the eclipse."

"I must have missed the line."

That was Ambrose, the shifty haunted look flickering back up into his eyes and Cain stopped moving forward. It was odd how quickly the man could switch back and forth between his own selves. Cain couldn't really predict who was going to come through, but he could at least tell them apart. DG said it had taken her weeks to tell them apart. A small feeling of triumph coiled in Cain's chest that he could do it right from the start.

He didn't like that look on Ambrose's face. He'd seen better this evening but he didn't know if he should push his luck just yet...

He smiled as his hand closed around an object in his pocket.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I brought you a present."

Cain watched Ambrose's eyes widen so much he thought they would fall out of his head as he fumbled to say something but was immediately overrun by Glitch,

"You didn't have to... Really!? What is it!?"

He pulled from his pocket, a crystal, just about big enough to fit in his fist, it was roundish, faceted, and it flickered with it's own light as it rolled in Cain's palm.

Glitch grinned an 'ooh' escaping his lips and then he blinked and Cain watched Ambrose slide to the forefront.

"Th-that is an Oogaboo sunlight crystal. It's perfect!"

Cain blinked as the crystal was very quickly accepted and held up to the light as Ambrose tutted over it like it was a baby.

"It's even the right size and shape... I thought I was going to have to drop a thousand platinums just to get ahold of one!"

The tin man smiled a bit as Ambrose hurried over to a largish round machine that sat with half its insides spilling out onto the work surface. He hadn't thought the gift would go over _that _well.

"I'm told they're rare."

"Oh, very much so, where in the kingdoms did you find it?"

"It kind of found me."

Ambrose looked up for an instant, before turning back to his machine, "Really?"

"We were surveying the caverns up north and found some not quite solid ground. I'm told it was a rather spectacular fall. Apparently I was there one moment and the next I wasn't."

The advisor looked up again, his hands stilling for a moment, "were you hurt?"

"Cracked a rib, but it was mostly my pride that suffered. After I got my bearings I noticed the cavern I'd landed in led off to a couple of tunnels, one of which was glowing."

"You found a _cavern_ of these? Cain do you know how much money that's worth?"

Cain shrugged, "that's what Tip was going on about. I was more concerned with getting myself back onto higher ground. But, well, she went down and brought a sackful up and I thought of you, so I kept one."

"Well, it's perfect, especially for what I have in mind," he smiled as he set about screwing the machine closed.

"Get the lights, would you?"

Ambrose hefted himself onto his workbench so that he sat next to his machine and his feet dangled. He nodded as Cain flicked the lights off and grinned as the crystal began to glow.

"Now, it will take a few moments, they work better after they've had a chance to adjust and... there!"

The soft glow grew until the machine lit up from the inside and all of a sudden thousands of pinpoints of light burst out if it, moving softly across the darkened walls of his lab.

_Best idea ever!_

Ambrose grinned as Glitch bounced. He had made an absolutely harmless invention.

"See! It's an accurate representation of the sky over Finaqua during the summer. I can make other fittings to change with the seasons and areas. It's very educational, one wouldn't even have to leave the classroom to see the stars and if the windows are closed you can use it in the day..."

Ambrose trailed off as he looked at Cain, who stood across the room with his head tilted up, watching the patterns and movements of light.

Suddenly a 'very important question' that Ambrose had never even considered surfaced in his mind, "Cain, do you like it?"

A heartbeat too long passed and Ambrose felt himself bite his lip, perhaps Cain thought it was silly. Essentially it was just a toy. It didn't have much use...

"It's gorgeous, sweetheart."

Ambrose swallowed as that silly wonderful pet name fell into the air and he felt tears prick at his eyes. That's right. Sweetheart. That was Glitch, that was him, them. He knew that Cain had been less than serious when he'd first used it in the... brain room, but now... The endearment rang a bit too honest for him to be joking.

Cain had called him 'sweetheart'.

Cain, who stood in the glittering light of Ambrose's invention in all his finery, with beautiful smoky blue eyes, who'd smiled and offered optimism when Ambrose was the one being difficult.

Slowly, Ambrose took a deep breath and let it out, "Would you come here, please?"

The tin man looked up curiously, but obeyed, crossing the room and coming to stop right in front of Ambrose. His hands were back in his pockets and he looked nonchalant, like he stood in starry lit rooms with advisor's all the time.

"Why... why 'sweetheart'? Why not any other name?"

A flicker crossed blue eyes, pale in the darkness of the room, and Cain looked down a frown tugging on his lips, "It's what I used to call Adora."

A million things tumbled around Ambrose's head all at once, knocking Glitch over with them and they both ended up blinking. He could understand endearments now, silly pet names were part of the game they had started but... back then? In the middle of the eclipse and grieving and everything?

"Why would you call me what you called your wife?"

Cain shrugged, halfway, only a little bit, like a child who'd been caught doing something... not bad... more unexpected.

"I'm not sure. I was worried when you didn't wake up, I think I panicked a little and when you opened your eyes, well, it just slipped out."

Ambrose felt a wiry smile slip out from both him and Glitch, "It just slipped out? Goodness tin man, you're a psychiatrists dream."

"Somehow that's not quite as offensive as it should be, coming from you."

"We are a bit of a matched set, aren't we?"

Somewhere in the middle between 'you' and 'matched' Glitch had begun keening, pushing the emotions that Ambrose was feeling along and with only sort of half an idea of what he was doing, Ambrose reached forward and buried the tips of his fingers into the furred collar of Cain's jacket. With another nudge from Glitch he had tugged the tin man forward, pulling him right against the edge of the workbench, _between his legs for Lurline's sake_ and claimed a kiss he thought he would drown in.

Now Ambrose knew firsthand what it was like to have all his synapses firing in random directions as he and Glitch simply _melted_. He felt Cain's hands slide up and wrap around his waist, pulling him towards the end of the workbench.

Ambrose knew there was a rather embarrassing keening noise building in his throat that he was definitely going to blame Glitch for later as his fingers slipped through fur and up, until they brushed short, cropped hair and he felt his stomach flip.

This was... glorious, decadent, wonderful and why in the four kingdoms had he been so scared?

They broke finally, panting, fingers still tangled, and Ambrose felt more than smug at the utterly wrecked look that was left on Cain's face. He'd done that, he'd done that to _Wyatt Cain. _That had to be some kind of scientific triumph.

"Right," Cain breathed, "So, are you going to be doing that often?"

"Possibly, at least until I get the hang of it."

"The hang of it? Sweetheart, I'd say you already figured it out."

"There's no harm in practice," Ambrose murmured and the third kiss was a clash of tongue and teeth and Ambrose couldn't tell who was making what noise anymore.

This was crazy.

In all intents and purposes, this wasn't what Cain had in mind for this evening. No, in the way things played out in his head they would be going much slower. For Ambrose's sake. Which was at least what he told himself. Then Ambrose had asked him over to the workbench and the words 'come' and 'hither' had flitted over the surface of the tin mans mind before something had crumbled between them. Now he'd fisted the advisor's vest and shirt up so that his fingers splayed over bare skin and Ambrose had somewhere along the way wrapped his legs around Cain's waist in an effort to pull them even_ closer_ which seemed to be a physical impossibility at the rate they were going.

The boy scout that took up most of the tin man's mind was making excuses about how they should stop and think this through. There were bound to have been some questions they hadn't asked or ramifications they hadn't considered. But that part of his mind was shushed away when Ambrose... Glitch? It didn't matter, _whimpered_ and brought his arms around Cain's shoulders, all the while doing something absolutely fantastic with his tongue.

For the second time they broke apart, Ambrose resting his head on Cain's shoulder as Cain kept ahold of the slender man so that his knees didn't give out.

"Oh. Wow."

Cain grinned as Ambrose muttered against the side of his neck.

"Y'know, I had it in my head that we would go slow..."

Ambrose chuckled, "normally I would agree but Glitch tells me that... that's a load of crap."

"Glitch is brilliant."

"Thank you, bed now?"

Cain laughed as Glitch surfaced and nuzzled his neck as Cain lifted him rather easily off the workbench and turned towards the bedroom with the advisor still wrapped around him.

"Is that what you both want?"

Glitch lifted his head and smiled, that sweet silly smile that Cain hadn't realized he missed so badly until he had it back, "my, you're sweet. I'm pretty sure if we wait Ambrose is going to lose his nerve and he's told me that if I let him he'll never forgive me."

"Right, bed then."

"Is it what you want?"

"Glitch, I wouldn't have you halfway to the bedroom if it wasn't what I wanted."

"Oh good."

Cain managed to make it to the doorway when Glitch piped up again, "Cain? Do you, I mean, I know you know what you're doing but do you know what you're... doing?"

"Are you asking me if I've had sex before?"

"No! Well, you must have, cause Jeb. But um..."

"You mean have I done this with another man?"

"...yes. Cause it's different. The uh, technical aspects."

"It can't be that different, besides, Tip has books."

There was a moment before Glitch broke out laughing as he let Cain carry him the rest of the way to the bed.

He'd been right, Cain was an overwhelming man. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

Ambrose heard himself moan as Cain found a particularly sensitive part on his neck. The man nibbled... The man _nibbled_! Gods! His back arched as he held onto Cain's shoulders, his back pressed against the tin man's chest. Somehow most of their clothes had found their way to the floor, along with the wire frame wings that were being smashed by Cain's jacket. Ambrose had found himself down to his breeches when Cain had pounced, turning the advisor into a whimpering, pleading, ball of nerves.

It was just, ceaseless, as if Cain expected him to change his mind at any moment and the man was working hard to make sure that didn't happen. Which was incredibly not-likely-at-all the moment the tin man's hand slid into breeches, that may be missing a button now, and found Ambrose's rather neglected member. A keening moan was stifled with a kiss that tasted of wine and sweet cream. Fingers twitched as strokes became more rhythmic and kisses more with a purpose. There was a moment of clarity before they fell completely into the bedsheets and started fumbling for oil, when Glitch remained a muddled pile of sensation, but Ambrose couldn't remember the last time someone else had done all the work.

Wyatt Cain was content.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been content. Satisfied, yes. Victorious, yes. Maybe even a little happy, but never content. There had always been that little bit of something that had been missing. That little bit of something that was currently curled against Cain's side, murmuring something. Cain smoothed his fingers through tousled curls and rubbed very gently across the scar hidden in them. Ambrose quieted, but snuggled closer, slender fingers curling around a hip. They were both tangled to the nines in the bedsheets, and Ambrose had mixed smears of red and brown smoothing down his cheeks. Cain didn't even want to know what his face looked like. He should get up. Take a shower. Find out when he was supposed to start reporting for duty.

Instead he opted to watch the sunsrise and trail fingertips across smooth flesh that sighed against him.

He looked down as brown eyes fluttered open and looked up.

"Breakfast."

"Last I checked that wasn't my name."

"Is now. We decided you should get it."

"Really?"

"Mm hmm, majority vote."

Cain blinked wondering how many 'majority votes' he was going to lose over the course of his lifetime.

"That's not very fair..."

"Oh, it is, you know. A democracy is one of the more fairer systems," Ambrose managed through a yawn.

"Well, I can't get breakfast with you on top of me."

Ambrose sighed while Glitch frowned, "That's a problem. We're going to have to go through another round of voting."

"Well, when you're done with that, let me know."

There was a vague mumble as the advisor curled back up, his face tucked against Cain's chest.

It was maybe another twenty minutes before Glitch needed waffles entirely too badly and Ambrose had agreed that they should maybe move. In a little bit. Soon. Finally they ended up grinning as Cain wrestled them off, leaving kisses in his wake and letting them have all the blankets as well as the wonderful view of him walking to the washroom. Nude. He stretched as he made a right mess of the blankets and burrowed under them.

Glitch grinned as he whispered, "There's a naked tin man in our washroom."

Ambrose chuckled stirring awake fully, "I know. You think we should keep him?"

"Oh definitely, there's an awful lot we can do with our own tin man."

"With or to?"

"You're a terrible deviant, Ambrose. I hope you know that."

"Well now, we have a delinquent, a deviant, and a boy scout."

"Good thing we have that boy scout, or else we'd be in all sorts of trouble."

"Now we can get him into trouble."

That's how Cain found them chuckling in the blankets before they yanked him back into bed with his trousers half up and deciding at that moment that, first, breakfast was going to be very quickly forgotten and that words like 'us' and 'ours' were entirely more favorable than their singular counterparts.


End file.
